The 10 Day Challenge

I have been posting on twitter and facebook about my journey to whole foods (you can follow me here if you don’t already!) and a twitter friend pointed this out.  We are starting on Monday, who’s with us?

We have been easing our way into it but I am made more aware each day of all the artifical things I put into my body and feed my kids.  I am ready to all in for 10 days.  I don’t expect that we will still be there 100% after the challenge but I expect that we will be much further in the path toward our goal to a balanced whole foods diet.

Sorry no picture tonight.  I am writing on the floor of the spare bedroom desperately hoping that my cousin’s little one will fall asleep so I can check on the new lambs born an hour ago and finish all the other work that has piled up today while I was in the kitchen destroying the batch of 24 muffins.   (Maybe I will tell you about it later, right now I am still too upset….they were whole grain, naturally sweetened after all)

Learning to Cook…

So I mentioned the last time I wrote that I am taking the Family Herbalist course through Vintage Remedies.   I think I also mentioned that I am learning to cook and prepare whole foods and the importance of diet in my pursuit of a healthier trimmer me. 

This is all new to me (well, not entirely but still) it is recommended that I undertake a bit at a time.   It is foolish to decide that by the end of next week I will use no processed foods or grains, drop my diet soda addiction and begin eating spinach by the acre.  BUT I can chose one change and implement it until it becomes habit.

I have this going for me: we raise our own grass fed beef (we sell it too! if’n ya are in need), I garden and preserve some of our food and I make my own bread.   I thought this made me a superstar of nutrition.  It.does.not.

The first step I am working on is sweeteners.  Because of my blood sugar issues (I am a hypoglycemic in various stages of denial) I thought this was logical.   I am working toward eliminating High Fructose Corn Syrup and other nutrient free (and many times nutrient depleting) sweeteners and replacing them with better choices.   The granola pictured above is sweetened with pure Maple Syrup and our very own raw honey.  (oh yeah, I forgot to mention, we have our own bees but still superstar status eludes me)

My aunt contributed homemade vanilla extract, a Christmas gift from 2011.

I have also made breakfast bars using sucanat (which I am now fond of) and Maple Nut Bars. 

My sister and my aunt (who are light years ahead of me) are coaching me along the way and the information I am learning through the Family Herbalist course is plenty of motivation.   I am hoping to move on to my next goal soon: eliminating soda.

Wish me luck.

If you don’t mind I am not going to proofread tonight.  I am off to exercise a bit before bed and then relax with God’s Word.

BTW my sister sent me a link to this blog.  I think you will enjoy it!

Back in the Saddle!

I am slowly but slowly getting my mojo back.  It seems that every year around this time I run into a brick wall and feel completely burned out.   I am finding that I just need to take a month or two off and renew my focus.  That’s pretty much where I have been.   Blogging, ravelry, dyeing, even knitting has been slow to non- existent.   We even took a break from school (that is the benefit of doing school year round!)

Monday we started anew!   Some farm fresh Cormo combed top has been dyed and is drying.  School is in full swing.  Everything is full speed ahead.  And it feels good!

I recently enrolled in the Family Herbalist program through Vintage Remedies and I am learning so much!  I have always been interested in Natural Health but it felt way over my head, this course has been great.  I just finished Unit Two: Macronutrients and wow! I am changing the way I eat.  God in His wisdom gave us exactly what we need to keep our bodies healthy.  I am learning that the key is starting slow.  I can’t make changes that stick overnight but I can do one thing at a time.  Because of my blood sugar issues I decided to tackle sweeteners first.   I bought a bag of sucanat and I am all set to try out some recipes.  If you have a good recipe I would love to try it!  Next I will be eliminating soda….I am a little nervous about that step!  (oooh these mini courses are pretty appealing too!)

Tomorrow night is my Miche starting up party.  I am a nervous wreck.  What if no one shows?  Worse yet…what if only one person shows and we stare at each other in horror!  Okay, I am not really expecting that but you know.   There are a few new shells that were just released that I am hoping to earn enough money to purchase (yes, that is why I decided to sell Miche, to fund my habit!)

 

Meanwhile on the farm…

I made it home from Memphis and have been sorely remiss in not showing you the new lambs!  

Twin Icelandic Ewes out of Lacey and Bam Bam

Twin Ram lamb out of Leah and Cassius (Cormo X Finn)

Twin Ewe lambs out of Rosemary and Roland (Jacob X Finn)

Single Ewe out of our first time lamber Beth and Roland (Cormo X Finn)

We have a barn full of Cormo Ewes that are ready to lamb anytime!  It is an exciting time here on the farm!

Falling in love all over again….

I have always loved homeschooling my children.  I enjoy being with them, watching them learn.  I love organizing the days and teaching my children just how much God loves them.

Lately though I have been burned out.  Homeschooling hasn’t been fun.  It seems like once the older children graduated and I spent time focus on transcripts and college requirements that I forgot the joy and the wonder with my younger ones.

This past week however I traveled to my sister’s home in Memphis TN we went to the Great Homeschool Convention and I have fallen in love all over again.

First I listened to Dr. Kathy Koch of Celebrate Kids, Inc.  She wrote a fabulous book called How Am I Smart?

I can not recommend it enough.  She inspired me to look closely at how my kids are designed to help them reach the potential God has placed in them.

We also heard several wonderful speakers including Nancy Campbell, Diana Waring and Tedd Tripp.  We learned about teaching History, loving our children and husbands and training our children to have good habits are good work ethics.

And the curriculum!   Wow, there were vendors galore!  I took the children around with me and let them pick out their own.    Here’s what they chose:

Math: They loved the manipulatives for MathUSee (even the 12 year old) and didn’t care to look at any of the others.

Writing: For writing they chose the program from Institute for Excellence in Writing.  I was surprised as it seems really intense but they were sure this was what they wanted.

Spelling/Reading: This was the biggest shocker of all!  For Spelling/Reading and Grammar they chose The Logic of English.  A great program don’t get me wrong but there are no bells and whistles.  Still, the boys are excited to get started.

Science: The boys walked by a booth complete with a car running in circles and they were convinced that was the science for them.  Exploration Science won their vote!

I ordered a new homeschool planner and bought a few teaching helps so as soon as we make it home we are ready to go!

Guess what???

I just didn’t have enough to do so I decided to become a Miche rep ;)  I have been a fan of Miche purses for a long time and own each style…

Classic…

Demi…

Prima…

Hipster…

and I even have a petite bag for my daughter.   In fact I have so many shells that I didn’t need to purchase the start up kit to get started!

The best thing about Miche is that I can change the shells to match any outfit.  I love how easy it is to change up and have a new purse!

You can find my website here.   For the month of April I am offering a free Signature Classic shell to anyone who hosts a party for me!   Don’t worry if you are too far away we can still do a virtual party and all your guests can order right online.  Not interested in a party?  You still can order directly through the website anytime.  Questions?  Want to book a party?  contact me at my8kidsmomm [@] yahoo [.] com

Yellow Belts!

Oh long neglected blog, I apologize for my absence.  I have finally wrestled life into some kind of order and will be more attentive to you, I promise.

Josiah (on the far left), Twila (2nd from the left) and me (bet you can guess which one I am) tested for our yellow belts!   The most exciting part about this is that Josiah has Autism and has a difficult time following directions and translating what he sees into what he does.  In other words he can’t mimic well either.   He thinks karate is hard and would rather quit but I have seen some real progress since we began.   It is frustrating for him to do the movements because they force him to use his brain in ways that he isn’t accustomed to but as he does that those pathways open up for him to do other things.  For instance Josiah has begun speak in complete sentences!  Not all the time and not always correctly but his thoughts are more organized and he is more able to communicate them.

Our Sensei is remarkable and everyone (including the students) goes out of their way to encourage Josiah.  We are so blessed to have found this school!

Did you know April is Autism Awareness Month?  I encourage you to find out at least one thing about Autism!   The CDC recently announced that 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism (that number has risen from 1 in 110)