Worm Ride Gardening

A Three Way?

2011-07-18T23:55:00.018-07:00

English	Español	Portugues
Ok, so this blog has pretty much been non-existent for awhile now and I’m hoping to pick it back up with an added feature as you can probably tell. One of my undergrad degrees was in Spanish, and because of the time I had spent in Buenos Aires Argentina I got to skip all the introductory garbage classes. As part of the degree I had to take a third language, and because Portuguese fit my schedule nicely (and they crammed 2 classes into 1) I took it, and I loved it. The problem, however is that I never get to use Portuguese and I only use Spanish extremely sporadically, and the old saying is if you don’t use it you lose it, and that can be applied to many things. So here I am attempting to write a blog in 3 languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese. We’ll see how this thing turns out.	Ok, así que este blog ni ha existido por un montanazo de tiempo, estoy pensando (y estoy haciendo) en escribir otra vez con algunas cosas nuevas tal como ya se ve. Uno de mis grados de universidad del estudiante era español y debido al tiempo tenía viviendo en Buenos Aires Argentina, no tenía que tomar las clases introductorias que a nadie le gustan. También, como parte del plan de estudios tenía que tomar dos una tercera idioma, y portugués combinaba dos clases en uno lo tomé y yo lo gustaba mucho. Pero hay un problema, y esto es que yo nunca puedo usar portugués y sólo hablo el español muy esporádicamente, y hay un dicho viejo que dice si usted no la utiliza usted la pierde, y estoy se puede aplicar a varias cosas en la vida. Entonces, aquí estoy atentando a escribir un blog en tres idiomas: inglés, español y portugués. Ya veremos lo que sucederá.	Eu vou ter algo aqui em breve
I intend to begin writing everything in English and translating them into Spanish and Portuguese and probably changing things a bit for each language, and no I will not just use one of those crappy online translators, they simply suck for large translations, but can be helpful at times for smaller things. I hope that I say some pretty ridiculously outrageous things in Spanish and Portuguese, otherwise this would be no fun, so feel free to comment on and in whatever language you read. FYI, I haven’t written or spoken Portuguese extensively since about 2001/2002 or so this could get good.	Yo voy a empezar escribiendo en inglés and trasladándolo a español y portugués, tal vez cambiando algunas cosas por cada idioma, y no es el intento mío a utilizar uno de los online traductores por que estos, por la mayoría, son porquerías cuando se tiene que traducir mas que frases simples. Espero que escriba cosas absurdas, ridículas y completamente incorrectas en español y portugués, si no, yo no me divertiría por nada. Por favor comenta en y acerca de cualquier idioma lee. FYI, yo no he hablado ni escrito portugués mucho desde 2001 o 2002 mas o menos, entonces tal vez esta será muy divertido.
Now for content, as though blogs are supposed to have any. I am a gardener / want-to-be farmer and really want to utilize this space for documenting my garden, answering questions and anything else that randomly enters my feeble mind. I live in the Desert Southwest of the United States and will cater to what I live and know, but let’s see where this takes us.	Ahora, para el contenido del blog, como si los blogs se necesitan tenerlo. Yo soy un jardinero / quiero-ser granjero y quiero utilizar este blog para documentar mi jardín, contestar a cualquier pregunta y cualquier otra cosa que quiero hacer. I vivo en el desierto del suroeste de los Estados Unidos y escribiré las cosas que vivo y conozco, pero ya veremos a donde este nos llevará.
ryan sauer

A One Income Family

2009-10-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

When Ryan graduated from college with his bachelors I was finishing up my first year of teaching and ready to pop out a baby at any moment. Literally the day he walked was my due date. We had used my small teacher salary to purchase a home and live off of for a year. It was hard being the main bread winner; there was a lot of pressure to get up early and shower and go to work, and I hate those things. But, I had no choice, it was up to me to pay the mortgage. Once Ryan graduated he began his career immediately at an engineering firm with a good salary. Okay, a great salary. It blew mine out of the water. We felt like we were rolling in the dough when we went from 28k to 40k. I was and do remain grateful for my husband's employment and his desire to go to work every day so that I can stay home with our children. It is a huge blessing in our lives.

Six years later, several good raises, and two growing boys, one salary doesn't seem to go as far as it should. We've never really had problems paying bills and have never been in debt (minus student loans and a mortgage), but we've also never been able to save as much as we want either. We're like your average middle class family living from paycheck to paycheck but in a financially responsible way, if that makes sense. But, we were happy, we didn't feel too strained and never lacked for anything.

We'll needless to say, times change. The economy is in the crapper and everyone at Ryan's firm received a 5% cut in pay. I didn't think much of it at the time and sadly didn't change my spending habits. I've been pretty frugal and thought that we would be fine. Over the summer we discovered Justin's food allergies and had to make some severe changes to our diets. I was overwhelmed, but determined to feed my child what he needed. As it turns out gluten free and dairy free alternatives can rock the boat of one's financial situation. One month this summer we spent close to $1000.00 on groceries when $450.00 is what we have budgeted (although we always spend more than that). Yikes! Our grocery budget (or rather our ignoring our grocery budget) has put us in debt. Nearly $3000.00 in debt and man does it feel terrible. This is the most debt that Ryan and I have ever had as a couple and it's strangling us. I feel panicked when I go the grocery store. I don't want to eat so I can save money, and I've lost my desire to cook which isn't good either because then we end up eating out perpetuating the problem. So what should we do? What will we do?

Ryan and I sat last night brainstorming on how to deal with these problems. And, so far this is our immediate plan/goal. 1. We will get out of debt by the end of the year. 2. We will pay for groceries using cash or debit cards and will not spend past our designated budget. 3. We will give up other luxuries and use those misc allowances to pay off debt. 4. We will give up some non-necessities of groceries: cookies, ice cream, cheese, Italian sausage. I know these items may seem strange to you but they are our favorites. I figure some items we can drop cold turkey and others we can make from scratch for a cheaper price then buying them pre-made. 5. We will cook, cook, cook. We've decided to try cooking and freezing meals using food storage. This way we will use up the groceries we have on hand and have meals ready to go. We will also start making our own staples like bread and will try our hand at rice milk and chicken stock.

We really feel motivated but need to have a defined plan with a schedule to get out of debt and change our lifestyle. We will have to make some sacrifices to reach our goal but it's worth it. Just having the freedom from debt will be enough of a prize for me. I never thought I'd say it or feel it, but living on one income is hard. I suppose it will only get harder the more children I have. I suppose I've learned my lesson and need to be more disciplined in my spending habits. Or, maybe I should just stop feeding my family. That's an option too.

Breastfeeding Campaign

2009-10-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

This story aired a few years ago but I still think it's really important and frankly these commercials crack me up.

Television: A Love/Hate Relationship

2009-09-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I made a big decision to decrease the amount of television I was watching. It was hard because I love tv. Like, love love love tv. I made a decision to only follow three shows and if I caught something else, so be it. I also made the rule not to turn on the tv until after my children were in bed. That was hard. Boy, did I miss Oprah. But, now, now it's no big deal. And, I've been able to loosen the rules and watch more. I'm more disciplined about it now. Years of practice can do that.

Last summer I read The Plug in Drug and Set Free Childhood and made some serious rules for tv watching for my children. That too was hard. Very hard. There were days where I was constantly fighting with my kids, unplugging the tv and at times giving in. But, now a year and a half later, we are doing just fine. Tyler gets to watch a bit more tv than Justin because frankly, I have things to do. One of the biggest ah-ha moments in my readings was discovering how much I use tv as a babysitter. It was upsetting to admit how much of a lame mom I was. But, once I did I was able to make changes. Now, Justin gets a movie day once a week. The movie then becomes special, something exciting. If I can, I try to watch with the boys and pop popcorn and enjoy the moment. Weekends and play dates are fair game because sometimes you need a babysitter and you can't get other people to abide by your rules when your child is with them. That's life. But, I am extremely proud of all of the progress that my family has made.

A few months ago, I gave away a tv. My kitchen tv is now safely tucked away in my closet. I actually don't miss it, and that surprises me. It shows how far I've come. A few weeks ago I was sick with the swine flu (so Ryan says) and the tv came out. Afterwards it sat and was utilized by Tyler a bit. By the time Ryan found the time to put it away, Tyler was already attached to it . That was a few weeks ago and he still cries at times, "Daddy took it my tv away!" He's quite perturbed.

I also have a love/hate relationship with Digital Television. When it first started I was so enamored with all of my channel eights. And, it was nice that my children could no longer work the tv on their own. They can't figure out the converter. But, now, now that fall season has begun I hate dtv. It is the bane of my existence. I have no cable so I have a converter. I have a dvr with a hard drive on it. Last season I could use it to record shows, while watching other shows. I could set my shows to record once and walk away for a whole season. It was awesome. Now, the dtv and dvr are not friendly. They do not work well together. Now, I have to be present to change the dtv channel before a second show begins. It sucks. I might as well use my vcr again. I've had to give up a few shows and that makes me sad. While I want to only watch three shows, the truth is once my kids are in bed and I turn the tv on I will choose something to watch. Some weeks I'm better than others but the beginning of the new season always taunts me. It's hard. I'm at the point where I'm making plans to order cable or buy a new dvr that can function with my dtv. Either way, something has to happen. There are three main ways that I relax at night: reading, Internet usage and watching tv. Without the latter, I am screwed. It's my favorite down time activity. Something has to happen and soon. I've given up a lot where media is concerned but I'm not willing to give it all up. Like I said, it's a love/hate relationship.

Was it Like Heaven in your Mouth?

2009-08-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen Dan in Real Life? It's hysterical. There's a scene where he is eating dinner and he says, "This corn is heaven." I crack up laughing every time I see that scene. Well, I've found a similar Heaven, in the form of a brownie. A gluten free, dairy free brownie. I made them on Friday and ate the whole 8x8 pan nearly by myself in two days and that's only because my husband was home over the weekend and I couldn't blame it on play date mothers. I found this heaven-in-your-mouth brownie recipe on Gluten Free Girl. You can visit it here. Seriously, it is the best brownie I have ever eaten. EVER. And I have eaten a lot of brownies.

As I said, I ate the whole batch in two days and figured I did without them for two days (and that was some will power on my part), so I was ready for more. I went to Trader Joe's under the guise of "grocery shopping" to buy a 3.5 oz bar of dark baking chocolate-it's part of my Heaven too. I got home and got set up and realized that I hadn't printed out the recipe and my computer was farting that day. Boo hoo! I was devastated, so I called a good pregnant friend who I knew would take pity on me to look up the recipe for me and relay it over the phone. I promised her a slice the next day. Sure enough I made the brownies, downed about half the first day and saved a piece for her.

I gave it to her this morning. She called mid-day to announce that she needed the recipe (as she was at Sunflower buying "groceries" (some baking chocolate for brownies). I asked her, "Was it like Heaven in your mouth?" She laughed at me and quickly got on with the conversation - she's pregnant and NEEDS these brownies! I get it! And, so should you - get the baking chocolate and get to bakin' unless of course you think Heaven is stupid. It's your soul. Whatever.

Healthier and Allergen Free Substitutes

2009-08-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

I've been learning a lot over the past two years about healthier options and allergen free options for cooking. I thought I'd share my findings with you here.

Healthier Substitutes
canola,vegetable oil, butter or margarine - coconut oil
shortening, butter or margarine - palm oil shortening
white sugar - honey, maple syrup, agave nectar
white flour - anything but white really - spelt, barley, oat, just have one with gluten in it
cow's milk - hemp, oat, almond, soy or rice milk
white rice - brown rice, quinoa (cooks in 20 minutes just the same as white rice), millet

Allergen Free Substitutes
butter - Earth Balance buttery spread
sour cream - Tofutti's sour supreme
cream cheese - Tofutti's better than cream cheese
cheese - Ha ha ha. You try an alternative I dare you!
pasta - TJ's brown rice pasta in spaghetti, penne and rotini
bread - Pamela's gluten free bread mix
crackers - Edward and Suns or TJ"s brown rice crackers
cow's milk - rice milk (and the others listed, my naturopath suggested we avoid soy so we do not use it much)
white flour - mix your own non-gluten flours and add xanthan gum for springy texture
ice cream - Rice Dream (not my favorite), Purely Decadent soy ice cream, Coconut Bliss ice cream (this is Heaven if Heaven costs $7 a pint)
eggs - ener-g egg replacer

If you are curious and want to purchase some of these items without having to search the store like an idiot, drop a comment and I can post pics of these items so you know what you are looking for. I can also tell you about where to locate them in various stores.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

2009-08-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to spread out my grocery shopping more these days so that I don't buy more stuff that I don't need and will probably end up wasting. I'm using more food storage and checking my fridge and cabinets before cooking. I've also been trying to make more vegetarian dishes lately; save money by not buying meat and live a longer healthier life because of it. So, I began with a Martha Stewart recipe "Vegetable Enchiladas" and I embellished so that I could use what was in my fridge.

Vegetarian Enchiladas
1/2 diced onion
2 garlic cloves diced
10oz frozen spinach
1 can corn
1 can black beans
mushrooms
1t cumin
corn or flour tortillas
red enchilada sauce

Directions: Saute onion, garlic, mushrooms. Add spinach, then cans of beans and corn. Roll in tortillas, spread enchilada sauce over the top and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. They were delish. Ryan and I added Monterey Jack cheese to our because we could. Mmmm. I will definitelty make these again. They were very filling, although I think it would be much better with fresh spinach and fresh corn off the cob.

Okay, I'm serious now!

2009-08-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

We discovered that Ryan is getting a 5% cut in his salary, so I'm extra serious now about not buying any more prepackaged gluten free $7-an-item items. I already had several different gluten free flours but they were not easy to use and I was always worried about spilling them everywhere because I would clamp four different bags with one chip clip. I know, I'm brilliant. So, in an attempt to make gluten free cooking easy, and therefore more desirable, I took a trip to IKEA and bought pretty plastic containers with lids. Hooray. I poured bag of flour with a weird name, after bag of flour with a weird name and labeled each of my pretty new containers. This, makes me happy and, in fact, makes me want to bake. Organization is good for my soul, hopefully, it will be good for my budget too.

If you look closely, you will notice a storm trooper and Jengo-dupa-bo-bupa in the picture. My son insisted that his star wars lego creatures be in the picture. Apparently, they appreciate my gluten free baking too.

The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Seriously

2009-08-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

I scoured the Internet for a cookie recipe that I had all of the ingredients for. I am sick and tired of keeping Bob's Red Mill in business all by myself. I found a recipe that looked good and claimed to be the best gfree cookies ever. And I tried it, and they were. Hallelujah! These cookies held their form and were the most like gluten filled cookies I've ever tried. I am ecstatic!

Here's the link as well as the cut and pasted recipe:

The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Created by Carrie @ http://www.gingerlemongirl.com/(Free of gluten, casein, and soy)

Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup Spectrum Palm Shortening
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour -or- millet flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum (optional)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Add In's:6 oz. gluten free or allergen free chocolate chips

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Banana Bread

2009-08-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

I am pumped up by my minimal cookie success and have been baking and cooking up a storm lately. I made some banana bread that was delicious but a little sweet for my tastes, although I think the rotten bananas I had frozen were really what made the bread too sweet.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Banana Bread
2/3 shortening
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas
2/3 C vanilla rice milk
1 3/4 C sugar
1 t salt
1 1/4 t baking soda
1 1/4 t baking powder
2 1/2 C gluten free flour (equal parts of sorghum flour, brown rice flour, and tapioca starch)

Bake loaf in pan at 350 for 45 minutes. Makes two loaves.

Terrifying Gluten Free Cookies

2009-08-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

About two years ago I discovered I was allergic to gluten, dairy and eggs which I refer to as my glairegg allergies. This past summer I've discovered that my six year old, Justin is allergic to these same things. Bummer.

I feel much more motivated to really stick to an allergen free diet. One of my biggest fears is that nothing will taste as good as the original dairy, gluten or egg filled variety. So, I sit paralyzed by my fear of funky tasting cookies. But, not today. Today is the day I got brave. I rolled up my sleeves, pulled out my 112 bags of Bob's Red mill gluten free something or other flours and began to mix. I consulted a handout I received from a class I took a few years ago about cooking with food allergies. I followed the chef's advice to see if I could, once and for all, put my fear behind me and enjoy good tasting gluten free chocolate chip cookies. Although, I didn't use the egg replacer just yet. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

I mixed up a batch of all purpose gluten free flour which includes 1 part brown rice flour, 1 part sorghum flour and 1 part tapioca flour. Then I followed my original chocolate chip cookie recipe substituting my flour for wheat flour and adding 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum for each cup of flour.

April's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 C shortening
1C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 C GF flour mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 C chocolate chips

I mixed up my cookie dough and was hopeful. It looked good. I tasted it. And there was much rejoicing! Hooray! And then I baked my first batch. And they turned out looking like this...

This picture actually doesn't do them justice. They look totally lame in person.

You can't exactly eat it like a cookie. It's more like the crumbs of the cookie jar that you desperately try to suck down when all of the cookies are gone and you want more becaue it was a bad day. But, the good news is that they taste marvelous. So, I'm not giving up. I put the rest of the dough in an 8x8 and am trying my hand at cookie bars. We'll see how that ends up. I'm hopeful at least and no longer terrified. It was a good day of baking!

A Boy and His Garden

2009-07-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Phoenix Home and Garden visited our home we got to work on a garden bed just for Justin. We began small to make sure that he could tend it on his own (which he almost, sort of does). He chose the plants that he most desired: corn, watermelon, strawberries, and tomatoes.

Justin's corn harvest. One ear had only one piece of corn on it. Oh well.

He planted with the help of Ryan, he waters with the help of Ryan, but he mostly harvests all on his own (with Tyler occasionally stealing cherry tomatoes straight from the garden). He is always so proud when he gets to eat his own vegetables. It gives him a good sense of pride and a healthy self esteem. Yay for gardening with kids!

Quote of the Week

2009-06-25T08:28:00.001-07:00

Our next door neighbor, who sold us every appliance that she owns, was speaking to Ryan sometime last week. She was quite puzzled.

"Is that dryer I sold to you still working? Because I saw that you guys were hanging your clothes up outside."

"Yes,but," said Ryan, "we try to use the line whenever we can use the suns energy."

"Oh," she laughed, "that’s right, you guys care about energy and the environment and stuff."

Farmers' Markets

2009-06-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I are huge fans of farmers' markets. Unfortunately, many of them that are actually close by are open only on Sundays. Bummer. We enjoy Guadalupe Farmers' Market for local and/or organic produce. It's close by, Priest and Guadalupe, and the prices are pretty good. The produce is in good form, but it's the extras that actually draw me in. This place sells locally made tamales and tortillas. The tortillas there are reminiscent in flavor of ones that Ryan and I purchased while on vacation in Cabo san Lucas. Delish! On one occasion we were checking out and realized there was a cooler next to us with a big sign on it in red letters that read, "Fresh HOT Tamales." They were still warm. We grabbed a dozen at a good price and had dinner to go. I love that I was supporting some local Grandma that needs a few extra bucks in the home. The salsa sold at the store is to die for too. I love their Drunken Irish brand. I'm a bit of a salsa aficionado because I eat it incessantly and this is one of my favorites.

Ryan and I went to the Downtown Phoenix Public Market on Saturday morning. They are open from 8-12 on Saturdays and have free parking. The market is outdoors but every area is shaded and there are fans for cooling. The market is small which is nice for a family with kids because we could get in and out in about 30-45 minutes. There was good looking fresh/local/organic produce, fresh breads and foods, live music, and other homemade goods. We bought some fresh baguettes, bagels, tortillas, salsa, spinach pasta, and produce for the week. Everything that we have eaten so far has been really tasty.

While the quality of the products was good the shopping was a bit of a hassle. They accept credit cards but not every vendor has a machine on the spot. They give you a paper to fill out with each vendor that you hand over at the end to make good on your credit. Sounds good, right? Not exactly. Not every vendor brings your items to the pay area so you have to go back through to get all of your products. We gave up after two vendors and decided to get some public market certificates thinking that would help. It didn't. Everyone looked at them like they had never seen them before and they couldn't give us change for them. So now we have leftovers. I suppose its not a huge deal since we will go again, but its annoying nonetheless. I suggest bring cash and avoid the hassle. We brought our own produce and shopping bags but there were plenty of plastic bags if you need those (and if you want them to sit in a landfill for eternity). No judgment.

Happy Farmers' Marekting everyone!

Grocery Outlet

2009-06-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

Our family drove to Zimbabwe (43rd Ave and Bell Rd) to get a good deal on groceries this week. We strapped our young family in the car and drove for 30+ minutes in fierce traffic to buy some cheap cereal. And.it.was.worth.it. I am very happy to say this trip, unlike the American Discount Foods trip, was much more lucrative. We got to the brightly colored store and immediately found their toiletries section. Hallelujah! For those crazies out there like me that pay 5.00 for a bottle of hand soap because it is made with natural ingredients and biodegradable this is your Mecca. I stocked up on Nature's Gate hand soap, shampoo and conditioner at 2.99 a piece. These babies go for 5-9.00 each at Whole Foods or Sunflower. So, even if I go here just twice a year to stock up on toiletries it's worth the trip.

The grocery section wasn't as fabulous, but I still found some good deals. I purchased some minced garlic and ginger for 1.00 which usually goes for 3-5.00. Yahoo! These babies have a three month fridge life once opened. We bought a case of rice milk for 1.29 a piece, Cascadian Farm granola cereal for 1.49 which usually goes for 3.49-5.49. We bought some soy ice cream and regular ice cream; a pint for 1.50. Awesome. We bought some other staples but the prices weren't stellar. They were basically bottom sales prices at an average grocery store. The produce was not my friend. I'd rather pull from my own garden thank you very much.

I still have one more shop to visit, but in a nutshell here's my advice: Shop the ads and get the best deals at local grocery stores and visit Grocery Outlet to stock up on natural toiletries.

Natural Remedies: Kids

2009-06-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Daily Supplements: Vit C, Nordic Naturals DHA (fish oils)

Bumps and Bruises: Arnica or arnica cream/stick

Headache: lavender oil in a diffuser, belladonna

Common Cold: vit C, kid's echinacea, tea tree and eucalyptus oil in the shower. I have the kids avoid dairy and citrus since both are mucus producing. I also like Boiron's coldcalm. I use a humidifier in their room at night. For Baby's I like Hyland's C+ Cold.

Thick Yellow Mucus: Boiron Pulsatilla

Cough: Olba's cough syrup (we refer to this a honey syrup)

Asthmatic Cough/Wheezing: lobelia really opens up the bronchial tubes and passageways

Lice Prevention: Use California Baby With Tea Tree oil, or add tea tree oil to your shampoo of choice

Pinworms: coconut oil based suppositories, externally use calendula ointment or California Baby diaper cream (it has zinc oxide which helps kill the worms)

Red Itchy Rectum: Use children's acidopholis as it may be a yeast problem

Croup: Boiron Spongia, lots of steam in the shower daily

Eczema: externally use florazone and bathe daily to remove any irritants from skin (our son had eczema off and on, turns out he has a dairy allergy. His rash was like smooth sandpaper. The bumps were very tiny and were mostly present on his belly and bum).

Rash, Skin Irritation: Boiron Apis

Tooth Pain: Use clove bud oil to numb inside the mouth

Teething Pain: chamomile tablets or Hylands Teething tablets/gel

Vomiting: Boiron Nux Vomica

Diaper Rash: for Prevention mix liquid grapefruit seed extract in a spray bottle with water, spay on diaper area each diaper change. I like California Baby or Weleda brands for diaper rash.

Bug Bites: Boiron Bite Care

Scratches and Scrapes: clean with soap and water, use colloidal silver spray, cover with a bandage

Natural Remedies: Adults

2009-06-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

I've taught a class for church on several occasions on natural remedies. I use a mixture of nutrition, herbs, vitamins, homeopathy and aromatherapy.

Disclaimer: I do nothing in the medical field, my only credentials are my motherhood and my experience as a patient and doctor to myself.

Daily Supplements: Vit C, Flax seed oil

Headache: lavender oil in a diffuser, belladonna

Sore Throat: salt water or apple cider vinegar gargle, zinc lozenge

Common Cold: vit C, echinacea, grapefruit seed extract, tea tree and eucalyptus oil in the shower. I try to eat lots of fresh garlic and avoid dairy and citrus since both are mucus producing. I also like Boiron's coldcalm. If the mucus of particularly thick I use Fenuthyme.

Flu: Osscillococinum

Allergies: boiron histaminum hydrochloricum, nettle leaf, bio-allers animal dander for cat allergies, Benadryl for something hard core

Bowel and Kidney issues: licorice root helps to support the gastrointestinal tract, charcoal stops diarrhea in it's tracks

Women Specific

Menstruation: Hylands PMS tablets and Menstrual tablets dull the pain and keep me even keeled, Flax Seed oil in a higher dosage (1 3x/day) during PMS keeps me from having mood swings, Vit B helps with energy, exercise, clary sage oil in a carrier oil/lotion rubbed into abdomen

Pregnancy: Papaya tablets are great for indigestion and heartburn, to increase iron I use Floradix, liquid chlorophyll and alfalfa capsules. For an itchy rash caused by a bogged down liver i use a Liver support with Milk Thistle and Dandelion Root. Both clean out the liver and can be used through the pregnancy. In the last trimester I like Raspberry Leaf tea to strengthen my uterus.

Postpartum: Chakra 4 in Phoenix sells a Joyful Mother tea (for baby blues) I have heard great things about, but have yet to try. I have used their postpartum floral sitz bath mixture. It is so soothing and healing and smells like a great soup.

Extreme Frugality, Extremely Me

2009-06-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine sent me this link to some blog posts by a guy named Hodding that was spotlighted on NPR. He reminds me of Ryan with his weirdness. The reads are short and good and inspiring and funny. Basically, he decided to finally live within his means. Since he was so in debt he had very little means after his have-to bills. His family of six lives on 550.00 a month. Here's the link.

All of these crazy ideas are just up my alley and extremely me. Anyhoo, it's given me some ideas. Our biggest expense is groceries. I have 450.00 budgeted but we always spend more. Always. AndthenRyanbailsmeoutattheendoftheyear. Hodding shops at a discount grocery store and it got me thinking, we have to have one around here somehwere. So I googled my way to three different stores. I like Robin's Nest Ministries in Tempe, but it is a small store. I'd like something bigger where I can stock up. This is what I found on google: Grocery Outlet, Discount Grocery Outlet, and American Discount Foods.

I went to American Discount Foods today. I was a bit diappointed. The prices weren't as fantastic as I was hoping for and the place was a bit ickish. I did find some good steals though that I will list below. It's somewhere I'd go to maybe once a quarter just to see what's available. I hope to hit the rest of the stores within the week. One is on Bell and 43rd Ave and the other is on 27th Ave and Northern, but I figure if I'm just going once a month or less, then the drive would be worth it. So far Grocery Outlet seems to be the best option based on their website and the pictures and FAQ I read. Take a look at the website if you are interested.

American Discount Food Price Frys Sale Price (guessed)
Tropicana orange juice 1.49 2.50
3.06 lbs of white rice 2.11 3.50
Jason face wash .99 8.00 at Whole Foods
lighter 2.99 6.99
4 lbs of potatoes .79 1.50
dozen eggs .89 1.29
dozen red potatoes .79 (.20/lb) 2.50
6 gala apples .53 .33/lb 1.49/lb
agave nectar 2.99 5.99
whole grain bread .79 and .99 4.99/loaf
Total 14.56 Total 38.75

The Sauer Family in Phoenix Home and Garden

2009-04-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

We have it! The magazine showed up at Fry's today and Ryan picked it up! We sure do look cute! I've found the link on Phoenix Home and Garden's website and have updated the link on the right. If you click it, it will take you to our article online. Or you can click here. Enjoy!

Garden State (Backyard) Fall 2009

2009-04-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

I took stock of our backyard garden today while Tyler was playing (aka watering the sunroom). We are in our in between stage right now. All of the Tangelos have been juiced although we are up to our ears in lemons and greapefruits. Ryan tries to irritate me to death every weekend while he runs the electric juicer for oh-five hours at a time - trying to save every last ounce of juice and freeze it. Weeds are bountiful as well as bolting and flowering plants. We have very little sustenance coming from the garden, but know that soon our tomatoes will be ripe, our artichokes will come forth and our asparagus will be popping through the ground. Along with harvesting, one of my favorite things to do in the garden is collect seeds. I love to collect seeds. The monotony of it is somehow satisfying as is the frugality of it. I hate to pull up finished plants because I know if I am patient they will give me the seeds I need for the next planting season. So, without further ado, here is the state of our garden via photographs...

Tyler, as he continues to try to water the sunroom. The dammage had already been done.

Tyler snags a snap pea from the garden, after shedding all of his clothes.

In my pretty garden...the flowers are blooming. Nasturtiums and double ruffled poppies dot the back garden beds.

Bolted Broccoli that has gone to seed. These pods will dry out and we will steal the seeds from inside for next season's garden.

Red leaf lettuce that has bolted. It should go to seed soon and we can rip that sucker outta' there.

These two large tomato plants, Ryan swear he did not plant. We don't know where they came from, but we are happy to have them.

Oooh, look, a little artichoke is peeking through. Yum!

Phoenix Home and Garden Reviews

2009-04-17T17:48:00.000-07:00

Okay ladies and gents, we want your reviews. How big does my head look on the first page of the article? Huge and long, right? It's a funy angle, right? Right? Seriously, we want to know what you thought about the article, let us have it and let Phoenix Home and Garden have it too. Below is an email that was sent to me from our writer Cathy Cromell.

Hi April,
Such a photogenic family! Thanks again for the useful info you and Ryan shared with readers. I hope it inspires others to garden with their kids. If you receive feedback from family and friends, it would be great if they'd also send an email to the editors at PHG (or you can forward it). They pay attention to what readers like, and if folks find organic, back-to-basics gardening info useful, we will be able to run more of it. The email address is: phg@citieswestpub.com.
Take care,-- Cathy Cromell

Phoenix Home and Garden

2009-04-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

According to my sources, the May issue of Phoenix Home and Garden is out and about. I personally have yet to find one in stores, but I'm assured they are available. I hope you enjoy your copy!

Lembas Bread in your 72 Hour Kit

2009-03-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

Don't you sometimes wish you could hijack some Lembas Bread from Rivendale and put it in your 72 hour kit? What?! You don't!? What's your problem?! Well, I do and I've found some at Sunflower. I've taken to putting Odwalla bars in my 72 hour kit. Since it's Stake Conference time, and I am a good doobie and just went through my 72 hour kit to update it, I have taken out my soon-to-be-expired bars and have eaten one. It is in fact, Lembas Bread. I'm sure I will not have to eat again until elevensies tomorrow.

Food Storage

2009-03-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I attended a RS event put on by a ward in our stake on food storage. Wendy DeWitt was the speaker and she was amazing. She set up her food storage on a worst case scenario. She purchased a solar over and began experimenting. Then she began her food storage and made it as simple as possible. She chose seven meals and multiplied each ingredient by 52, so that her family could eat each meal once each week for a whole year. Sounds easy, right? It is.

I got excited after that meeting and began my own food storage. I have yet to buy a solar oven but have been trying to get Ryan to make one for several years. I'm sure in the end we will just buy one, because my life works that way. Anyway, I tweeked her plan a bit and made it work for my family. I first tried to obtain a 1 month food storage so I planned 7 meals and multiplied everything by 4. After that I moved on to a 2nd month of food storage and chose 7 more recipes. I am currently working on my 3rd month of food storage, but I have posted here my recipes and spreadsheets from the aforementioned. Hopefully, they will help to give you an idea of what to do, or you can simply use it as a template for your own recipes and plans.

Good Luck,
April

This is Wendy's Blog.

This is the booklet she passed out EverythingUnderTheSun.

These are my personal food storage plans
1st month plans

1st month recipes

2nd month plans

2nd month recipes

Sauer Family

2009-03-04T00:12:00.000-07:00

Ryan
Ryan is the Worm Ride Gardener. He steals grass clippings from nearby apartment complexes and begs bags of leaves from family and friends while swiping throwaways from alleys to make his garden an oasis of junk where only the most beautiful organic produce is created.

April
April is a plain jane girl, yet she is a bit more refined than her partner. She values functionality and fruagality, but not above atractiveness. She encourages her husband's hobby but doubles over in laughter at his crazy antics while chasing after the kiddies. She is a crispy, crunchy granola mom and enjoys the simplicities of homebirthing, nursing and cloth diapering her little buggy boys.

Justin
Justin is a worm ride gardener in training. He specializes in grub findage and has a future in entmolygy and horticulture. Although he is quite young he can explain to any passerby the importance of good bugs in the garden and will point them out as he holds in his hand an old mayonaise jar filled with writhing grubs.

Tyler
Tyler is a toddler gardner. He enjoys planting random seeds in random places as long as he gets to wear gloves, hold a shovel and spray the hose wherever he pleases.

Worm Ride Gardening

2009-03-03T18:02:00.001-07:00

Ryan and I have decided that since we will be featured in Phoenix Home and Garden in May, we might as well really enjoy our 15 minutes of fame. This blog is an attempt to do just that. We will show off our gardening skills, our parenting know-how, ideas of cheapery and our general exuberance for eco-friendly living.
Wish us Luck!

Because of the Economy…

2009-02-20T10:12:00.001-07:00

Many people are out of work or have been demoted, or have lost some compensation for their work because of the economy. I know many people personally that are in these situations. Times are tough, money is tight and people and struggling. I just had a friend ask me for some tips on cutting her budget to help things out. I have always been frugal, even when I was young and not spending my own money. I wanted to get the best deals on everything. Now, that I’m an adult (well, sort of) and am raising my own family and spending my own money I have learned a few tricks here and there to cut costs. It is here that I will list a few tips that have helped my family to stay financially sound during these tough times because of the economy.

Grow a Garden
Growing a garden is actually quite simple. Start with basic produce items that your family will eat regularly. You can grow almost anything in Az if you plant it at the right time. You basically have to ignore all of the ‘outside of AZ’ gardening authors. My favorite gardening author is Dave Owens the Garden Guy. His most helpful book is Extreme Gardening. His insights work because he lives here in Phoenix.

Having produce straight from the garden, not only saves money, but it is the best damn produce you’ll ever eat. Gardening also develops a sense of pride and ownership and brings you down to earth (literally). It is a very humbling and satisfying experience to grow and eat and can your own food.

Save Money
I know this sounds stupid, but it helps. I have family right now that is completely out of work. Because they had an emergency savings, they are doing fine. They are not worried, and are able to continually care for their family without too much stress or strain.

I personally have several savings accounts. Ryan takes care of long term savings because, honestly, I’m not interested in that and have never been good at it. I save for Christmas, and Household Projects and Vacations. Each year I pick a project to work on and have the money readily available. Each Christmas I am not worried about straining our finances because that money is already there to spend. I could start Christmas shopping now if I wanted to as I already have some money in savings. Another benefit to these odd savings accounts is that if I need them for something else, like groceries if Ryan lost his job, I could use it.

Create a Food Storage
We have a three month food supply and some other basics. Food storage is not only for natural disasters. If my family was out of work, I know that I can get by for at least three months with my food storage (and garden) and be just fine. That is so comforting. In fact, with the flu traveling through my home I have not been to a grocery store in about three weeks. Ryan went to Guadalupe Farmer’s market for fruit once and I went to Sunflower to buy diapers and medicine for the boys and that’s it. And the diapers weren’t necessary at all. We used our food storage for all of our meals while we were ill. Our freezer was stocked full of chicken, beef, and sausage and our cupboards were full of canned goods for recipes that we make often. It was nice not to have to worry about when or how I was going to get to the store.

Shop Smart
When I buy groceries I do several things beforehand. I shop the ad and look for the best deals. Then I get out my recipes and compare them to my ad. I create a two week menu and then I shop at the store. While there I also pick up any items that we use on a regular basis that are on sale. These items go into my food storage. I always know that I have purchased my canned goods, frozen meats and toiletries and household cleaning products at the cheapest price possible. That makes me feel good. I like knowing that when I wipe my bum I’m only spending .003 instead of .03 or whatever the math really is.

I also shop at Robin's Nest Ministry. This store is on the corner of University and Hardy. The goods for this store are purchased in bulk from local grocery stores. The items are generally just expired, dented or squished. Frankly I don't care. If I eat rice crackers that are one week old but I paid $1 instead of $4, then I'm ecstatic. We buy lots of canned goods and cereal here. As more stores pick up organic and whole foods items we get to purchase better and better products at amazing pricesat Robin's Nest. Sometimes I find soy flours, gluten free baking mixes and organic sugarfree goodies for my kids. The proceeds from the purchases go towards a church too. We also shop for buns here to feed the ducks. They are super cheap at $.10 a bag.

When shopping for clothing I have a few rules I’ve made for myself. I never buy anything that’s not on sale. Although there are a few exceptions to this one. If it’s for me and it has a specific purpose, I will buy it full price. But for the most part I stick to this rule. Secondhand shopping is a must if you have children. Clothing can take up a huge amount of cash and be quite burdensome on one’s budget. I enjoy Goodwill. Every day at goodwill is a sale day. Each day there is one tag and one week number that is on sale. If you donate items ask for a receipt. This receipt has a 20% off coupon on it and is good for any purchase over ten dollars. I almost always have something I can bring with me to donate to Goodwill. Thursday is dollar day, where one colored tag is one stinking whole dollar. This is a great day when shopping for adult clothes. You can really find some good steals. Every other Saturday is their 50% off the entire store sale.

Goodwill has honestly spoiled me. This past year has been really difficult shopping for me. Since Justin now has timelines for when he needs certain articles of clothing for school I’ve had to venture outside of Goodwill more than I normally do. That has been difficult. As I’m at Old Navy looking at a pair of jeans that are $8 all I can think is, this is worth eight jeans at Goodwill. To avoid the sorrow of shopping sales elsewhere I try to shop ahead of the season.

This is what $30.00 buys you at Goodwill.

I just recently shopped at Goodwill to buy for next year for Justin. I spent a total of thirty dollars and this is what I purchased: 3 shirts for Tyler, one diaper bag for me, (the rest is all for Justin) 5 shirts, 1 pair of jeans, 1 sweater, 2 hoodies, 5 pairs of shorts and a pair of shoes. That is six complete outfits including sweaters and shoes (but minus underwear and socks) just for Justin alone. That’s a good deal. I bought Gap, Wrangler’s, Levi’s, various Target Brands including Genuine Kids and Mossimo, Osh Kosh, Billabong, and Old Navy. Good brands if you ask me. And this stuff is gently used too. I have people ask me all of the time where I find cute clothes for myself and my boys. In fact Jaylee’s favorite phrase seems to be, “Where did you get that? If you say it was $2.00 and you bought it at Goodwill, I’m gonna’ scream.” I love it. That’s how it should be. We don’t need to spend a lot of money when we can buy the same stuff cheaper elsewhere. Plus we get the satisfaction of sticking it to the man!

Greenhouse of Shame or Fame

2009-02-17T23:44:00.001-07:00

It is no surprise that I have been making fun of my husband's attempts at greenhouses. The first was hideous and not very functional. I felt shame every time I looked at it because I actually allowed that atrocity to be built in my front yard. Stupid. It was white trash meets a landfill in my front yard. I hated it because it was not cute, regardless of how much food it produced.
Ryan's second attempt at a greenhouse was much better, although I still made fun of him. The man actually made plans for the thing using his engineering program, Autocad. I think this showcases his nerdery. This new greenhouse not only looks prettier but it actually works and has produced a lot of our produce during the winter months. Currently we are growing snap peas, basil, celery, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, bells, pole beans, and a few other green plants I can't remember. Needless, to say I'm pretty happy about this one, but I try not to mention it too much because then Ryan would get a big head to go with his green thumb.

Now, now it may be the cause of some fame to our little gardening oasis. We received a call from a woman who writes for Phoenix Home and Garden. She wants to tour our garden with an emphasis on our greenhouse. She is putting together a piece on how ordinary families with ordinary homes are getting back to the basics to provide for their families in hard times. It seems a bit silly to us since we have been gardening since we purchased the home in 2002, but whatever. We'll take what we can get. She is scheduled to visit our humble abode this Friday. I thought Ryan would be frantic with weeding and sprucing things up but it looks like the plan is to go as is; au natural.

My mother in law, Becky, initially warned us that we might be receiving a call. I laughed and figured it would never happen. Apparently my father in law gave away some berry plants to a client who knows this writer's husband. She was impressed that someone was growing berry plants and visited their garden. While there, Becky informed her that her son had built his own greenhouse and was having great success with it. So, here we are today...just a simple family, gardening to provide for ourselves, and BAM!, the next thing you know, we are on the cover of Phoenix Home and Garden. That would be so cool. Perhaps my nerdy engineering boy will have his fifteen minutes of fame next to the likes of his hero, Dave the Garden Guy. Wish us luck!

Geny

2009-02-07T18:44:00.001-07:00

I have found my new Posie Patch for diaper covers. The business is called Geny. She only makes covers, and they are really cute. She has great boy's prints. That, I like! It is so hard to find boy's prints for diapers and covers. I purchased two of her covers when she was on Etsy and I love them. They are side snap covers with pul on the inside and a printed cotton on the outside. They are pretty pricey. 18.00 a pop but I wait for stuff to go on clearance and buy cheaper and get free shipping. Here's the website .

Hooray, a Bidet

2009-02-07T18:32:00.001-07:00

I finally broke down and bought my bidet. I am so excited I have to pee and then clean myself with my new bidet! Ha ha ha! It's come to my realization that when I say bidet people think of a massive toilet-esque bidet in my bathroom. Not at all. Please, people I am all about practical. A picture of my bidet can be seen here at Wildflower's website. It is a handheld sprayer that is attached to your toilet or nearby wall. It will be great for cleaning diapers, wetting bums, and personal hygiene during my ladies' days and postpartum days. The cool thing about it is that it will eliminate toilet paper use in our master bath. I hate buying toilet paper. It's so expensive and you just wipe your butt with it and then it goes on to ruin our water supply. Great investment. We will have cloth wipes and a bin for those obviously to wash on a regular basis. And since you will be rinsing yourself before wiping they shouldn't be too gruesome (since I know that's what you all are thinking). Hooray...a bidet!

More Handwork

2009-01-21T12:10:00.001-07:00

needle felted ball

handsewn felt and bead angel

handsewn felt dove ornaments

Justin's handsewn felt and painted ornaments. One of these he made for Tyler for Christmas.

Oh How Lovely is our Garden

2009-01-21T11:35:00.001-07:00

During our Christmas break our family dug up our sweet potatoes. We had a pretty good crop. I especially liked the ones that look like long poops. Justin and Tyler enjoyed using Ryan's new shovel that he got for Christmas from Justin. I actually think we need to buy another because the boys keep fighting over it. Our worms in the surrounding area were ginormous and our soil was black and lush. A very good sign. Hopefully it will stay that way until we plant something else in the area.

Our garen is lush and green now. We have lettuce coming out of our ears. We have spinach and onions, carrots, herbs, and broccoli. Our greenhouse is in full swing too. Anyday now we will start picking snap pea and strawberries. Mmmm. Delish! I love our garden, but the best part is eating the fresh goods and sharing them. Justin's teacher has already asked me for some lettuce so she doesn't have to buy any. I don't think many people garden, but it's more than that. I think that people in AZ don't know that you can garden here. It's quite cute actually.

Can you See the Box?

2008-12-23T11:00:00.001-07:00

On Saturday evening our heater broke. Ryan pulled out the fuses and thought that that was our problem since our unit is brand new. He left the fuse out for me so that I could stop by the store on Monday to have it checked. No problem. But, by Sunday evening Ryan had alternate plans. This is how our conversation went down.

Ryan: I've been thinking about how to keep our house warm.

Me: If it involves anything other than calling our heater guy and getting him to fix our heater, I don't want to hear this.

Ryan: Laughing. There were these people that were protesting oil drilling. They bought big oil drums and painted them black. They filled them with water and put them on their fences. It ended up heating their whole house.

Me: So, you want to buy oil drums, paint them black, fill them with water and put them on our fence? Yeah, that'll look good. This is ridiculous, Ryan!

Ryan: No, I have an idea of something that I can make in the yard to keep the house warm.

Me: Laughing. We can keep our house warm by fixing the heater. You know, Ryan, some people use the phrase thinking outside of the box when someone has a good idea. But can you see the box Ryan? Where is the box? You are so far away from the box that you cannot see it? I want you to keep a finger on the box at all times.

Retarded absolutely retarded. Just get the heater fixed! Now, I know that you are probably disappointed that you will not see his white trash invention come to fruition, but I think you can handle it. There's only enough room for a few white trash ideas around these parts.

When retelling this tale to Ryan's family I've also coined a name for my stand up comedy routine wherein I am Becky's opening act, my portion of the gig is called, "White Trash Genius"! I think I'll be rakin' in the dough!

For a Limited Time Only

2008-12-04T14:22:00.001-07:00

These are the gifts that I have made for some family members for Christmas. I am so proud of them, that I had to share. Two lion crowns with capes, one pirate crown with matching cape and one pink crown with a store bought tutu! So cute! They will only be up for a few days as I like Christmas gifts to be a surprise. Enjoy!

A Practically Crafty Red and "Green" Christmas

2008-11-28T20:20:00.001-07:00

It's Christmas time and no one has money. The economy is in the crapper. The planet is in the crapper. I was in the crapper last night myself (stupid glairegg full feast of temptation), three times to be exact. The point is, this Christmas I am pulling out all of my practicalities and craftiness to make this Christmas as cheap as possible and as green as possible.

Crafty Thing #1

This advent calendar is way cute and I made it myself thankyouverymuch!

Crafty Thing #2

I am making many gifts this year with my own two hands. I made four Christmas gifts for a whopping 15.00. Awesome. I will post pictures later for these items.

Green Thing #1

I have been trying for a long time to figure out a good substitute for wrapping paper because it cannot be recycled. I LOVE wrapping paper so this has been particularly hard. for birthdays I have Justin draw or color a picture on large craft paper that can later be hung up as artwork or recycled. I though maybe we could do this for Christmas but we are all opening up gifts together no one will recycle this and it will get chucked. so what to do? And then it came to me...cloth bags. I have been making these cute cloth bags. I will not try to use them for extended family since I have already burdened them with buying my children natural material-ed (I love making up my own words) toys, but next year I may try. My immediate family will open gifts that are enclosed in cute Christmas-y cloth bags. We can use these year after year and just add to them. I am so excited. I want to runt o the store and buy up cute fabric, but I'm cheap and awaiting sales.

Practical Thing #1

I'm using up gift cards to buy presents. Usually I am selfish with these and spend them for extra fun items, but this year I've been using them to purchase gifts. I bought just under 200.00 worth of gifts using gift cards at no cost to myself. Awesome.

Practical Thing #2

I've emptied my credit cards reward points. I purchased for myself with no money of my own a Sony 4GB MP3 player, a $25 itunes gift card and a $25 blockbuster gift card. Sounds good to me! Woo hoo!

Feet or Butt?

2008-11-19T07:47:00.001-07:00

What do your boys smell like?

Son of a Grub

2008-11-14T19:09:00.001-07:00

My friend I had a conversation about grubs yesterday. You can read about it here. After I read about it I found myself feeling stupidly silly and replied to her with this bit of nonsense. She suggested I put it on my blog. It also references a fantastic book I just read called The $64 Tomato. This author is hilarious. The book is a compilation of his memories of gardening. In one particular anecdote he discusses how disgusted he was after spending weeks of his time trying to kill off the Japanese Beetles only to realize that they were creating grubs which were decimating his lawn . His response to this was a rightly placed son of a...! Like I said, he's hysterical. He reminds me of Ryan and his crazy gardening antics. If you garden or if your spouse gardens this book is worth a read. Anyway...

I is a Writer

2008-11-09T22:35:00.001-07:00

I belong to a homebirth group. We meet regularly (although I haven't been for a while), and we have a yahoo group to chat about our problems and support one another. A while back a member of our group, who also runs Supported Birth of Arizona, was looking for birth stories, photography, and art work for a book she was compiling. I put together my birth stories, photos, poetry and scrapbook pages and shipped them to her with my signed release thinking, maybe, just maybe one of my tales would make it. Nearly everything I sent to her was submitted and is in the final version of this bonefied real book, Our Stories, Our Births. You can see it here. It was really surreal to pick up a book and see my name in print as the author and read my own birth stories, poems and see pieces of my scrapbook art on display. It feels good to be an author even if only for a fundraiser book of sorts. I am proud to have been selected as a participant in this project and hope that it will bring positive light to the world of homebirthing. It is official, I is a writer!

Holy Sweet Potato Ryan

2008-11-07T09:39:00.001-07:00

Worm Ride, Anyone?

2008-10-27T11:09:00.001-07:00

Justin and Tyler have spent a lot of time outdoors lately. Mainly because I need some space. I turn on the hose and try to lock them out. Oh, and the boys love to be outside too. This Saturday was no different. Tyler and Justin played in the mud making mud balls to throw at the wall and building volcanoes. Ryan was busy trying to de-grassify our back bed so I can plant wildflowers. As he did this Justin began collecting potato bugs and worms. Justin came running in the house at one point, to find me eating bon bons and watching survivor reruns, to ask an important question. "Can I use the wagon for worms?" "Sure," was my response. And he ran out the door.

Later in the day Ryan informed me that Justin suggested that the worms were bored. He thought that they would enjoy a ride in the wagon. I had to check it out for myself. Sure enough, Justin had created a mound, filled the wagon with worms and was indeed pushing them down the hill. When I asked him about it he kept saying, "Do you think they're scared? Do you think they like it? I think they're having fun." It was probably one of the cutest dang things that boy has ever done. He was so serious about all of it too. He was genuinely concerned for the boredom of his worms. Oh, man! You gotta' love boys!

If you were about to die, would you eat tuna?

2008-10-27T10:55:00.001-07:00

Food storage has been difficult to do in our home for many reasons. One, being that I have crappy food allergies, two that Ryan eats like a picky two year old and lastly, that we don't eat a whole lot of foods that come out of cans or boxes. It's been hard to find shelf stable foods that are acceptable to all of our family members. As I was coming to the end of recipes that contained shelf friendly ingredients I started to get desperate. On one Costco trip I eyed some tuna packets that would be perfect for a food storage meal. Only one problem, Ryan hates tuna. He is much like his niece Ashley who once asked Jenny to make her a tuna fish sandwich without the fish. She just wanted a tuna sandwich. Sadly Ryan is not a seven year old and cannot be fooled so easily. So, in my desperation to follow the prophet and contain my three month food supply I came to Ryan with this very important question, "If you were about to die, would you eat tuna?" We were already discussing food storage so he understood the context of that question and yet, he hesitated. He responded with something like, "Well..." I just about flipped out. "Are you kidding me? You are at death's door and you are going to turn down tuna just because you don't like the way it tastes? You'll leave our family to die all by ourselves because of tuna? You're crazy!"

On the other end of the spectrum I can tolerate all kinds of foods. I'll pretty much eat anything and I honestly like most foods. Ryan and I recently switched over to maple syrup as our syrup of choice. After several weeks of using the syrup, I had to fess up. I nearly whispered to Ryan, "Idon'tlikeit. Maple syrup. I just don't like it." I know everyone is gasping because it's the real thing and oh so tasty. But to me, not so much. It's a runny puddle of sweetness that I don't care for. I miss my Aunt Jemima with it's thick glopage of high fructose corn syrup. Mmmm.

So what does this have to do with anything. Well, I said screw it and I bought the tuna. Apparently Ryan will die as we run out of food and have nothing left but tuna. As for me I will live on to enjoy tuna and what's left of our Krusteaz pancakes and gallon of Aunt Jemima syrup I purchased today at Smart and Final. Aw, well. I'm doing what's right, right? Doesn't that count for something?

My Skin

2008-10-26T16:23:00.001-07:00

Why is it that for years I've used chemical ridden product after chemical ridden product with not one single problem? Literally smearing it all over my skin without any breakouts whatsoever. But now, now that I am completey kosher, my skin is like, "Ahhhh! help?!" Perhaps my skin is reacting to these natural products in such an adverse way because my body is still full of toxins. And toxins, much like misery, love company. Maybe, just an idea. Alright back to my peeling eyes. Sigh.

EC

2008-10-21T22:42:00.001-07:00

I first heard about natural infant hygiene from a La Leche League mom when Justin was about two. I thought it sounded interesting, but it just wasn’t something I wanted to try quite yet. It was also not very good information. Something to the extent of, “A friend I know, has a cousin whose sister does it.” Not very valid info. Then Crystal started to talk about, but never really tried it herself.

After I had Tyler I began attending homebirth groups. A woman in the group was actually doing natural infant hygiene, or EC: Elimination Communication, with her own daughter and was very successful. I purchased the book that she recommended and began right away. I was successful immediately and got really excited about it. But, in all honesty I kept it pretty down low because I’m already a freak, I wasn’t sure how committed to it I was going to be and I didn’t need people to see me fail at something that I wasn’t even doing full force. Anyway, long story long, I tried it, it worked and then I backed off probably more than I should. It’s really difficult to do when you are experimenting and have a second child, and life in general to tend to. In retrospect, I wish that I would have begun with Justin. Poor Justin, such a guinea pig. I know I’ve ruined him already. But, as we stand I am pleased with our progress. Basically, Tyler knows what to do on a potty. Sometimes he does it, sometimes he doesn’t, but we continue to try. I figure any use of the toilet now will help until I really have the time, energy, and will to follow through regularly. This is what EC looks like in our home…

May

I love that Justin's finger is in this picture.

Tyler loves to play with Justin when he does his business.

October

I look like the devil! Hmmm, maybe a snack will help...or a book about going to the potty.

Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup

2008-10-16T17:12:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I slaved over frozen chicken and crock pot. I de-boned and shredded my chicken late in the night so as to prepare a hearty soup for the next day. Today I enlisted help to make said hearty soup. Justin donned his apron and chef's hat and got to mixing dough, cutting carrots, and rolling out noodles. The soup was bubbling and smelling delicious. I ladled out a portion to bring to another family and thought for a minute, Geez, I hope that's enough. It didn't seem to have a much volume as I had hoped. I delivered the meal and returned home to the yummy smell of my homemade chicken noodle soup.

My family sat down to our glorious meal, blessed the food and began to partake. Hmmm. That's funny, I thought, it needs a bit more flavor. As I made my way to the chicken bouillon, I began to laugh hysterically as I realized why my soup was so bland. NO CHICKEN! I made chicken noodle soup with no chicken. I.could.not.stop.laughing. I quickly called up my friend to apologize profusely for being a wicked moron and forgetting the chicken, of all things, in the chicken noodle soup. I feel so embarrassed and mortified. It was too late to bring her some chicken as they had an activity to attend. But, luckily for us we had lots of chicken to add to our yummy chicken noodle soup. Pa ha!

Acrobatic Nursing

2008-10-16T13:29:00.001-07:00

Tyler is in that crazy acrobatic stage of nursing. It takes all of my energy not to just push him down and cut him off cold turkey. He flips around from side to side, tries to turn my nipple around in every direction possible, he fondles me with his hands everywhere and tries to shove his feet into my g's and shorts. sometimes he will head butt my breast when he is silly nursing and playing. A lot of the time I get a fat lip because of it. And there's also the fantastic added bonus of a smelly, sticky, stinky hand or foot in my face. That's nice! He also enjoys kicking the mouse, keyboard or my hand as I am working or "working" on the computer. Ahhhh! It it weren't for all of the lovely benefits of extended breastfeeding for myself and Tyler I wold have cut him off a long time ago.

But then there are the times when he hums to himself while nursing. He will also smile while latched on and giggle and coo as I tickle him. He will also slurp on and slurp off with a refreshed, "Ahhh." He will lovingly sit down gently in my lap and fluff my shirt a bit as if to say, "it's time mama." And now that he's signing to nurse I just can't resist it's just too cute to say no to. My favorite is when he will be half awake half asleep between naps and he will look at me with a dazed and confused expression and grasp slowly but surely at thin air to tell me he wants to nurse. all the time he has the cutest bed head you've ever seen. Man!

I put some old home movies on DVD and couldn't resist watching Justin's younger self. He went from calling nursing "no no" to "nur to" and then just "nurse" or "nursie" It was very fun to watch. I find it interesting that each kid has a different name for nursing. Thus far Tyler will sign, pull on my shirt or simply yell, "Bah!" at me.

A little girl I know today watched me as I nursed Tyler. She looked me in the eye and said, "I don't suck milk from boobs no more." I just simply said, "okay." And that was that. Too cute!

I was doing the math today in my head and I realized that I have had very few periods in the past several years. I became pregnant with Justin in July of 2002 and got my fertility back in September of 2005. I became pregnant in June of 2006 and have yet to have my period. So, what that's 9 or 10 periods in (9+28+9+19=65 months) almost 5 1/2 years. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Not to say that any of it is easy. One mother was asking me about night nursing and my honest to goodness answer was, "I was really tired for 3 years." And I was. You just do what you have to do and what works for you. And nursing works for us!

Who's Afraid of a Grub?

2008-09-29T00:04:00.001-07:00

It’s gardening time at the Sauer home. We’ve been readying our beds, pulling out weeds, and planting seeds and most of all finding grubs. Icky, gross disgusting wriggly grubs. Last week Ryan and Justin were pulling out the compost for our backyard garden. As they were sifting through it they were pulling out the grubs and collecting them in a large bucket. Justin loves to find bugs. He also likes to show me the bugs before he throws them out into the street. I try not to be a sissy mom especially since I have two boys, but come one, who wants to look at a bucket full of wiggly grubs? Not me.

Justin convinced me to look. Then he convinced me to watch as he dumped them in the street. This is the scene that took place...Grubs were strewn about the hot asphalt. They hurried their little bodies and wiggled about inching their way to what they thought was freedom. Tyler, who wanted to be with daddy, made his way out into the street but was so freaked out by the massive crowd of wiggling grubs that he stopped dead still and began shrieking for help. Daddy rescued him, but come on…this is just wrong. Is this how the rest of my life with boys will play out? In the street watching grubs wiggle away for their lives? Ick!

But at least, I’ll have lettuce and broccoli and other such good things to eat from our gardens. The troubles we go through for food. Ay yi yi!

Ryan recently surprised me with a bout of in-home leadership. It was so pleasing to see that I lit up, got giggly and began kissing him. “I knew this day would come!” I beamed as I kissed him on my tip toes. “I knew you would lead our family!” I know it sounds gay, and trust me it was, but I couldn’t help myself. Anyway, Ryan has been feeling like we are near a recession and has been rethinking our finances and future planning of funds. He actually suggested that we increase our food storage, save our vacation money for a surplus, and increase our home food production. I was shocked and humbled and excited and mostly felt inspirited by my leading husband.

Over the next few days we concocted plans and goals as to how we would go about this. We’ve also decided that once we paint our house (because nothing can happen until we paint our house, because I lead too) that we will convert our front yard into a bit of a mini orchard. We are thinking mango, banana, avocado, cherry, and apricot trees will take over the space that is currently being wasted by our beautiful but often dead grass. It all reminds me of a book I’d like to read but never will called Food not Lawns. It’s right up Ryan’s alley. I’m sure if I bought it, he would read it. Maybe Christmas. So, when all is said and done and no one can afford gas we will bike to and from our places of being and eat from our garden and orchard and read from the light produced from our solar panels. I think we’ll be pretty set. Now I wonder how much power it takes to run my DVR and TV simultaneously. Hmmm.

A Knight and a Lady

2008-09-28T23:49:00.001-07:00

A Knight and a Lady went riding one day,
Out in to the forest, away, away.
“Dear Knight,” said the Lady, “I pray have a care.”
“The forest is evil. Beware! Beware!”
A fiery red dragon appeared on the path
The Lady cried sorely, “Alas! Alas!”
The knight slew the dragon,
The lady was scared
They rode off together. Hooray, hooray!

My versions of fiery dragons.

Children and Healthy Eating Habits

2008-09-16T20:39:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about food a lot lately as I have been going through some allergy testing. I've also been around a lot of different people lately with different eating habits than my own, good and bad. Here are some thoughts I have about children and eating.

Justin has always been a good eater. He goes through stages though when he hates certain foods and then he will love them again. It's odd. Lately he has found many of my dinner choices to be gross. We've been trying to teach Justin not to say, "This is nasty!" or "this is de-scusting!" Instead, we would like him to say, "No thank you, I don't think I want this." Honestly, it just hurts my feelings (I already have picky Ryan poking at his plate and moving around beans, so I don't want another one of these on my hands), and he needs to learn how to react when someone puts foods in front of him that he doesn't like. We don't force him to eat food, but I'm trying to teach him to eat around the foods that he doesn't like and just eat the ones he enjoys. I try my best to not change the meal or pick out items that he doesn't like. That is his job.

Over several years Ryan and I have made some changes to our food cupboards and general eating habits. Junk foods such as chips have to have a purpose. We don't purchase them as snacks. We allow ourselves a bag of chips if Ryan is bbqing hamburgers for example. In fact, Justin calls them, "Those chips we have with hamburbers." Then of course we finish them off as snacks and when they are gone they are gone. Now, this is not to say that we never have chips as a snack, on occasion I splurge but I always try to come up with a good excuse, like friends are coming over and we're eating sandwiches, or something.

When it comes to most other junk foods, my personal philosophy is that if you don't have them in your home, or don't offer them to your child they don't even know they exist. We don't do juice, or processed foods or frozen meals, or anything like that. Now, that's not to say that Justin doesn't have the occasional mac and cheese or PBJ, but when he does I buy mac and cheese with real cheese and we use organic pb and fruit preserves on wheat bread. I just try to be choosey.
It's not that I'm against junk food, in fact I love junk food. I always have some chocolate in my home and I enjoy ice cream a lot. But I try to bake most of my own sweets and I buy small pint size ice creams. Again, when they are gone, they're gone. It's pretty simple really. If you don't want your kid to have it, or you don't want to be tempted by it yourself, then don't buy it and don't bring it in your house.

Just a quick rant...I get irritated when I hear women say, "All my kid will eat is a pbj and juice!" or whatever their story is. I want to roll my eyes and walk away. Are you kidding me? Who is in charge here? As mothers it is our job to grocery shop, make meals and provide them to our children. If your child is only eating pbjs and juice, that's because you are giving it to him. Arg!

Just a silly story. Well, first off, since I've been on my Glairegg free diet I've been making a lot of new recipes. Lots of beans and different types on grains and legumes. I love quinoa, barley and lentils. I recently bought some millet after attending chef Brad's class. One evening, Justin was helping me cook. While I was pulling out the brown rice he got so excited and screamed, "Yay! millet! I like millet. We have it at school with that sweet soy sauce. That dif'rent kind of soy sauce that's sweet. When can we get that dif'rent sauce?" I was laughing so hard. What five year old busts a gut in excitement over millet? What a nerd my boy is. He has also been requesting salad specifically with spinach for his school lunches and he loves mango and likes to mix them. Weird yes, healthy too? Yes! I'm proud of his eating habits. I feel like I am offering him a variety of healthy food choices and he is growing into some great food tastes.

Rhymes and Verses

2008-09-15T22:24:00.001-07:00

Down in the barnyard, early in the morn

A fuzzy little chick was born

cheep, cheep, cheep

peep, peep, peep

Soft and new

hungry too.

His lit-tle head goes up and down

pecking on the hard hard ground

when he's done it's time to rest,

on his mother's feathered nest

A little green frog sat on a log

and said, "no one likes me."

A little duck said, "you are wrong,"

and gobbled him up for tea.

Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck

Go-od morning mother hen, how many chickens have you got?

Madam I have ten

Four of them are yellow,

four of them are brown,

Two of them are speckled red the nicest of the town.

Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck.

A's Quote of the Day

2008-08-30T07:45:00.001-07:00

"I just, I want, I want to be one of those people that can make stuff," stumbled April to her vastly more intelligent husband who winced as she uttered these incoherent words to him while trying to explain her desire to bake, grind her own grains, and prepare cereals on her own from scratch like Grandmothers used to in the olden days when their sole responsibilities were in the kitchen.

See, the stupidity is already infecting my verbalizing skills. Damn choices!

Um, Can I Get Some Tilapia with my Packaging? Thanks.

2008-08-28T20:51:00.001-07:00

Do Choices Make Us Stupid?

2008-08-28T14:19:00.001-07:00

I've been surveying different Frys lately in an attempt to side step my three grocery store visits a week to get one item here and another here or here. It's irritating. Apparently, if you shop at a Frys that is not ghetto, but is in the ghetto, then you actually can get a really good selection of food. Well Bravo!

Anyhoo-da-lilly, I was at Frys in the ghetto (not to be confused with ghetto Frys or ghetto Frys that used to be Smiths that used to be Smitty's (Oh my! I have lived here too long!)) and I was purchasing some items that I needed to make dinner that night. On my list was Monterey Jack cheese for my scrumptious green chile chicken enchiladas. I made my way down the refrigerated dairy aisle and began to glance at the cheese. I eyed each hanging row of cheesy goodness like a word search trying to peep out my monty jack. It was not there. I could not find it and I started to panic. Oh my gosh, how am I going to make dinner? I don't want to stop at ghetto Frys. I'd have to go home and then back out with the kids and it's 1000 degrees of nasty outside. What the frick am I gonna' do?! I gathered my wits about me and looked one last time but knew that my cheese-y-word-search-like skills had not failed me. And.then.I.saw.more.cheese. What? More cheese? How can this be? Cheese comes in cute little packages of a rectangular shape and you can actually shape, cut or grate the cheese in any which way you choose. No! Way! I remember cheese like this from the olden days when my mother slaved over her handheld grater and picked it up with her bare hands to place it on a casserole. Those were the days.

Cheese-y story short, I am so stupid. Did I actually forget that not all cheese is pre-shredded and fancy? Have I somehow gotten myself in a cheese-only-comes-in-a-bag mind meld? Or, could it be that all of the choices that we have today are making us stupid? Because...I think, uh, we are, stupid I mean. Uh-duh!

A New Crew Member?

2008-07-07T22:30:00.001-07:00

What? What's that? Ryan's joined the crew of Jesse's Landscaping, you say? No way! No way is right! It's worse, that would make him sane. A job is job, right? No, no, he has now taken to flagging down innocent landscapers and begging them for their grass clippings and other organic goods that they have nicely loaded into the back of their trucks. He slyly gets them to follow him home as he trots next to their trucks and then then quickly pounces onto the truck, garden fork in hand and steals their goods. Poor spanish speaking guys never knew what hit them, or that this handsome spanish speaking fly-for-a-white-guy could be so persuasive. Frankly, I think they took pity on him because clearly, he is insane. And one should never be mean to someone without all their wits about them. Ah, well. Let's hope Ryan sticks to poor unassuming landscapers and stays out of landfills. Seriously, fingers crossed guys, or someday I could be sending my boys off, gloves in hand, to help out their compost crazed father at the landfill!

Green and Green

2008-07-07T16:35:00.001-07:00

One of the hardest parts of being environmentally friendly is watching the dollars disappear from your wallet faster than you can say global warming. It's amazing to me how expensive items can be just because they aren't popular and the demand is not as high as the average American product.

I've been wanting to replace my cosmetics and facial creams for sometime now, but have been waiting for them to run out (I'm cheap and I hate to throw things away). Anyway, my cosmetics stores are nearing the end so I've begun my research. The main ingredients that your cosmetics should not have are sodium laurel sulfate, Pthalates, parabens and fragrance/parfum. It has been difficult to find cosmetics that are a good price and healthy for you. I feel lucky that I've found a few items at Target, of all places. I've discovered Physicians Formula Organic Wear. I've purchased their pressed powder and blush. Hopefully they are just as good as my chemically ridden products that I smear all over my face that I buy at such high end stores as Walgreens while on clearance.

Today at Whole Foods I was in search of face wash, eye makeup remover and face lotion/sunblock. I could not believe that prices. Some of these items are over $40.00. It's amazing! I found a Kiss My Face facial line that was on the lower end. Face soap 12.99 and lotion 18.99. The lotion was in a one ounce bottle if you can believe that. I know! I also purchased Earth Science makeup remover for 6.49. It's so hard to buy these items at these prices. I'm just not used to it. But I suppose if I really want to be healthy and green I've got to give a little more green than I'm used to. Now is the time to put my money where my mouth is...and maybe I can look pretty while doing it too.

Rooster Runs and Leaf Leaves

2008-05-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

LeAnn's family lives in a rural area, well, it used to be more rural. Anyway, a few years ago Darrin was telling us that he had gone on a rooster run that morning. We all looked confused at him and he began to explain. Roosters are mean. They peck and spit at you and are generally grumpus, so when you have one as a baby you keep it while it's cute and then you get rid of it. First, you choose as neighbor that you don't like, or would like to bother. Second you enlist a get away driver. Lastly, you drive by the back fence, throw the rooster overboard, and speed away in your getaway truck...this is a rooster run. Hilarious I think.

Last week, we had someone pull a Leaf Leave on us while we weren't watching. Ryan came running inside to inform me that someone had left two large bags of leaves for our compost pile. Apparently we are so geek-greened out that we are getting compost drive-by's. But, whatever, the more the merrier I guess. What's next people will leave bidets and rain barrels on our doorstep? That would be nice. Then we could scratch those two to-do's off our list.

I blockbustered Living with Ed from HGTV. It's six episodes of Ed Begley's life as an environmentalist with his wife, who does not want to be all of the time. If anyone wants to see a day in the life at the Sauer Home watch this show. I have never laughed so hard at a television show. It hit so close to home. Some of my favorite quotes so far:

"I'm making toast." grins Ed as he rides his bike to supply energy to his toaster to heat it up.

"I can never leave this man alone. Each time I come home there's a new contraption in my house."

"There's always some new monstrosity in my backyard."

"I'm all for the environment but why does everything have to be so ugly!"

"I'm surprised you haven't used a magic marker to put the numbers back on the knob." Rachelle
"That's a great idea, I'm gonna' get a marker." replies Ed.

Ed's wife Rachelle is hilarious. They fight over each new green idea Ed has. It totally reminds me of Ryan and his first attempt at a TPT greenhouse, or his many jimmy rigged contraptions that are hideous but he is so proud of. Plus, he has some good ideas we'd like to implement.

He reminds me so much of Ryan. Ed Begley was composting while in an apartment. He would save his scraps, walk to the RR tracks, dig a hole and dump them in. Doesn't this remind you of Ryan's shed full of recyclables that the City of Tempe didn't recycle at the time? Now, that's dedication, a bit crazy, but dedication none the less. He has a new book out now I'd like to get, but I'm cheap...we'll see.

Our next goal is to obtain a bidet for our master bath. We need a small diaper pail and liner and wash cloths. I think I can find all of these supplies at a cloth diaper store. We will simply use the bidet to wash, use wash cloths to dry and place in our pail to wash later. Voila! We will have the cleanest bums on the block and will not be polluting the environment with rolls and rolls of tp. Plus we won't have to buy nearly as much tp too - very cost effective, I think. I'm excited. And to irritate Helena, it will also be great for my ladies days, or post birth to keep the area clean and fresh!

Check Out the Size of My Berries

2008-05-05T15:45:00.001-07:00

Jealous much?

The life of a berry in the hands of a one year old.

Berry lover in a tree.

Greenhouse Abundance

2008-04-22T22:18:00.001-07:00

A few years ago Ryan built a "greenhouse." I write "greenhouse" because to me it was a metal thing that made me and my home look like white trash. Many people agreed with me on this one, especially after Ryan added the tube socks to the corners so that the metal poles would stop cutting his hands. Anyway, the thing didn't work so well. Ryan had a hard time attaching the plastic sheeting and I spent my days hating the jimmy rigged white trash lookin' thing. It was not working.

Over Christmas break Ryan visited the Krause farm and was highly impressed and came up with some great ideas. He spent his vacation time creating a greenhouse (a real one), complete with an autocad printout of his plans. He purchased scrap wood at home depot which sells for cheap and began to build and build and build. He even built in a door with a handle. He loves this baby.

I helped here and there by holding up plastic sheeting so that he could enclose the garden for the cold weather. I helped again when the weather heated up by folding the plastic. But, I was the most helpful when it was time to collect and eat goodies from the garden. The boys were helpful in that area as well. We just like to go into the greenhouse and graze. Sometimes when I don't know what to eat, I will step into the greenhouse and just find something waiting for me. I brush it off on my pants and pop it in mouth. Good enough for me. Talk about organic and local!

It has been fabulous, I must say, even though I still don't understand why all of this gardening must take place in my front yard when we already have a designated space in the backyard. Oh wait I know why, because those piece of crap blackberries are shading everything back there and nothing can grow but weeds and nasturtiums. Ugh.

This year so far we have harvested lettuce, tomatoes of every shape and color, strawberries (for the first time they've actually produced), green onion, snap peas, shallots and bells. I love to harvest. I am a produce snob now. I'd rather go without a tomato then buy the crap from a grocery store. They're horribly mushy and gushy and taste like acid. No wonder why I hated tomatoes until I ate one from my own garden.

When our growing season is over I will return to Guadalupe Farmers Market I suppose. It seems every time I mention this place someone says, "Huh? What? Where's that?" Guadalupe Farmer's Market is a produce store with only a few shelf items. They have local and organic produce and some locally made tamales. Fan-freakin-tstic! It is located on the Southwest corner of Guadalupe and Priest. I highly recommend their produce, but I more highly recommend starying your own garden. Just don't do it in your front yard! Have some respect for yourself and leave the white trash look to us. We've got it covered!

In Honor of Earth Day

2008-04-22T13:56:00.001-07:00

...Because we should all respect the earth at least one day out of the year right?! Alright, so here goes my attempt to explain the April Lady way of non-disgusting compost in a way that doesn't make you feel like an idiot.

Step 1 Purchase a good small trash can (the ones that have a good seal, so as not to let your house stink like rot after weeks of compost not being taken out, even though your husband swears that he just did it and argues with you about reasons why it would just be easier if you did it anyway) and place it on your kitchen counter. So far, it's easy right?

Step 2 Make dinners from scratch using lots of fresh veggies. Be sure to check your recipe first to see if you have all of the necessary ingredients. This is very important or you could end up on the floor of your kitchen crying. Trust me! Anyway, peel, cut and place all veggie waste into the trash can. (Leave cutting board on counter for several days until you decide to cook with veggies again, then wash it.)

Step 3 After using paper goods, such as paper plates, tissues, toilet paper, napkins, paper towels, even pizza boxes, place them in the trash can as well (you can also compost items that are 100% cotton). Leave the pizza box on top of the trash can until your husband takes it outside to the real compost. Fight about it for several days while feeling overworked, unappreciated and generally irritable. Irritation Pointer... If you are upset with your husband blatantly throw something in the trash that is compostable while he is watching. Make a nasty face like a five year old and stomp away. Opposite Irritation Pointer...if you are annoyed with your wife, simply flig your soiled tissues of q-tips directly out the bathrrom window into the garden. That way your wife can pick lettuce for dinner next to ear gooped q-tips.

Step 4 Have the responsible party empty the compost into the main compost pile in the backyard. Begin with a composter from the city (free of charge), then upgrade to a hand-me-down from family, when there is no room just begin throwing your compostable "stuff" directly onto the ground. This way you won't have to walk the extra 10 steps to put it into the free or hand-me-down compost. Live this way (you know with a designated rotting pile of garbage on the back corner of your home, until you have a mobile baby; then create your own with chicken wire and poles to keep the baby from eating rotten fruit with grubs nearby.

Free of charge hand-me-down homemade

Step 5 Care for your compost pile by watering it on occasion. Take the kiddies out to watch the humming birds eat the bugs hovering over it. Place all garden clippings on compost pile as well. Turn compost around on occasion with a shovel.

Step 6 When compost is ready it will be a dark brownish/black color. Use the compost in the garden that you will painstakingly create and then later ignore while weeds run rampant until you start all over again.

Happy Composting! April

Food Storage for Dummies

2008-04-22T08:58:00.001-07:00

Step 1 Marry a Sauer
Step 2 Tell your Sauer spouse that strawberries are on sale at Frys 10 for $10
Step 3 Send Sauer spouse to Frys to "pick up a few things"
Step 4 Help Sauer Spouse unload 3 full flats (24 containers) of strawberries into the kitchen
Step 5 spend the entire next day lalening, cutting, bagging and freezing strawberries, while simultaneously breaking child labor laws to train up the next generation of Sauer spouses

Best of luck! Hurry there is still one Sauer available - he's great with children and he's a looker!

I've been Outted

2008-04-20T20:43:00.001-07:00

Yep, I've been outted, and in the mother's lounge of all places. I am officially the freaky lady with her ginormous nursing one year old. All around me babies younger, or of the same age, have weaned and are simply napping on their mother's laps. My little one squirms and squeals and grabs at my shirt trying to catch a bite of my nipple through my shirt.

A mother looks confused at me as I open my blouse. "How long are you going to nurse?" She asks seriously. "Do you really want the answer to that question?" I joke, thinking she's already heard that I am a nutjob that nurses 10 year olds. "Is it a one sentence response or is it an essay?" she volleys back. I'm worried. What do I say, do I go with seriousness and start quoting league or Dr. Sears. Nope I go from the heart. "Well, I nursed Justin until he was three. I plan to nurse Tyler while both of us are still okay with it." Now she looks nervous, and the conversation lulls. Awkward. Then I stumble on about how much I appreciated nursing when Justin was a toddler. It was seriously the only time when I enjoyed him. I could have an awful day with Justin and when he would nurse, he would calm down, cuddle, my hormones would be released and I loved him once again. I think it is as nature intended it. I don't know how mothers don't hit their children when they have non-nursing toddlers.

I think I spoke from the heart but I'm never sure which response is best: facts or feelings. And this mother is hard to read. She didn't look like she thought I was freak, but she may be the type to go home and tell her husband about the loony woman nursing her 6 toothed giant walking child in the mother's lounge.

Did you know that the world average of breastfeeding is 4.2 years? And the US is included in the average. Even mothers who nurse one time in the hospital are counted, thus the US is bringing down that average. Pitiful I know. So for those who are curious about extended breastfeeding and it's benefits I will leave you with this quote from this article in Mothering.

"The World Health Organization recommends that children be breastfed for up to two years and beyond, as do UNICEF and the Canadian Paediatric Society.1-3 The American Academy of Pediatrics advises breastfeeding for at least one year, and thereafter for as long as both mother and child desire it.4 In fact, in many parts of the world, it is normal to breastfeed for two or three years or even longer.5"

Then I will direct you to Mothering.com, LLLI.org and Mothering Your Nursing Toddler by Norma Jane Bumgarner. Do your own damn research. I'm not some freak show at the circus you can prod and pose mean questions to.

More freaky benefits of Breast milk in particular...
I love to use breast milk for bug bites. When I have a mosquito bite I go straight for my breast.
Breast milk can heal mild diaper rash, goopy eyes, goopy noses, etc.
Breast milk is soothing for a Strepth Throat. I know this from personal experience. And your damn right, I'd do it again.

If I remember correctly it is sterile and antibacterial. It's also good for ear and eye infections. It's made specifically for your baby, so why wouldn't it be the best medicine for them? Makes perfect sense to me, and I'm a brilliant outted freak show nursing mother. Now if you can't trust me, who can you trust?

The Best Reason to Buy Green

2008-04-14T22:46:00.001-07:00

We buy green cleaning products. I'm paranoid about my kids licking the floor (it happens a lot), so I use vinegar or just water. I don't want to leave soap on my counters so I use essential oils, but it took me the longest time to get green bathroom cleaners. Several months ago I found a green toilet cleaner that I liked. No biggie, it just works. Come to find out, I'm really glad that I use non-toxic toilet cleaners. Apparently, when I am not looking Tyler lifts the lid, gently swishes the water around with his hand and then sucks the water off his fingers. Nice. Hooray for a non-toxic toilet cleaner. Now if that is not the best reason to buy green, then I don't know what is.

And while I'm on the subject...I've discovered green cleaning right under my nose at Target. Target carries a brand called Method. I knew they had hand soap but didn't realize that they had cleaning products. Turns out they have a washable floor mop (similar to a swiffer), a floor cleaner, and get this, my favorite, compostable cleaning wipes. I love these! they have more products but these were really the only ones I was really excited about.

I beat my record of 65.00 saved in one grocery shopping trip. This past week Fry's was having a rockin' sale and I used coupons, plus my cloth bags credit... I saved 74.73. I am truly a domestic goddess!

I failed to mention this tidbit, Ryan and I ran out of our green dishwasher detergent. We had some gel cascade that someone had given us. "Help! My eyes are burning!" I screamed to Ryan the first night we used it. My eyes got teary and were red from this toxic fumey cleaner. You really don't realize how gentle the green cleaners are until you go back and try a toxic filled one . Holy smokes what a difference it makes. And to top it off, the cleaner sucks. It has left this thick film on all of our dishes. We have to rinse them off and scrub them before using them. I should just pitch it and use my own non-eye burring cleaner that I bought from Sunflower during my sad Sunflower trip. Geez!

Truth about Homebirth

2008-03-28T14:04:00.001-07:00

Over the years I have been asked many questions about homebirth. Many of these people were being nosey, many were curious, but some were actually interested in real information. This post is in honor of Crystal who will birth at home within the next few days, and for all of the mothers who have genuinely asked me about homebirth out of real interest.

Midwives
I get lots of questions about midwives. People are simply ignorant about what a midwife does and how she does it. Midwives are highly trained individuals who specialize in pregnancy care, birth, post birth and immediate newborn care. My previous midwife also offered well women care at her office. Different types of midwives attend different types of births. Some midwifes attend births at hospitals, some at birthing centers and some at personal homes. Some midwives have an office while others do home visits. Every midwife is different and has a different philosophy. My personal midwife Marinah, who began Sage Midwifery , trusts in the birthing process and in women's bodies. While trained professionally for every circumstance, she has a hands off approach. We waited together patiently and did not intervene in the birthing process. This means no induction, no vaginal checks unless solicited by me, no machines, wires, ivs, or anything near that. No forceps, no drugs, no pulling, nothing. Baby comes when baby is ready. Midwives believe in birth and trust in it.

Equipment
Midwives come with a bag of goodies, a scale, oxygen, cord clamps, gauze, a fan (which my midwife says is her most important tool, I agree I loved it), whatever she needs she has in her bag of tricks! They are prepared for natural birth.

Midwives also require that you obtain a birthing kit which has basic supplies like gloves, lubricant, menstrual pads, sitz bath, baby hat, etc.

I enjoy waterbirths so I labor and deliver my babies in the birthing tub. The water lessens the pain of contractions and provides for a warm safe entry for baby as well as a quick rinse before greeting family.

At Home
The amazing thing about birthing at home is that you are most comfortable in your home. You do not have to go anywhere. Everything that is about to take place will happen around you. You can wear what you want, eat what you want, have there who you want, adjust ligthing and temperature as needed, labor where you want, deliver where you want and make whatever kind of horrible noise you desire. It's all about you as it should be! Once the baby is born, you do not have to go anywhere. You are already at ease. People clean up around you and feed you while you bond with your new baby. It's wonderful and soooo easy going.

Husband
Ryan has played such an integral part in both of my at home deliveries. At Justin's birth Ryan was by my side the entire time. I was emotionally and physically in ed and I wanted him to do and be everything to me at my labor. My needing him was so bad that if he was trying to eat something or pee during my 30 something hour labor I would scream for him to be back at my side. He was in the tub with me and caught Justin and cut his cord.

At Tyler's birth I was emotionally dependant upon my midwife because of some psychological turmoil we went through together during my pregnancy. Ryan helped in other ways this time. He helped me out with his strong hands during my back labor sine Tyler was posterior. He was in the tub with me pushing on my back during my pushing contractions so he did not catch the baby this time, but he did cut the cord.

I can't begin to explain how much respect I have gained for my husband because of his active part during labor and delivery. Ryan is there working with me d=from start to finish. Feeding me, holding me, leaning with me, wiping my brow, fanning me, uplifting me, inspiring me, giving me blessings, catching babies, you name it. He is 100% in it. I am so much closer to him because of the role he takes during our births. It takes two to make a baby, it takes two to deliver a baby.

Family
My family is amazingly supportive during the birth of my children. I am lucky in that both sides of my family births at home or births naturally. My sisters are there with me the whole way. They record my births with a pen and notebook including contraction timing and quotes as well as photographs. they also feed me, water me, help Ryan and find what needs to be found in my uber organized bins. I'm a bit of a nesting Psycho when I'm pregnant. when needed they too allow me to rest on them, or use them to support myself during pushing. Crystal held up my arms when I squatted with Justin and I distinctly remember asking her if I could lay in her lap while laboring with Tyler.

Children
Older children have a great place at home births. They are not displaced or forgotten about. They too have a part to play during a home birth. Becky helped Justin to understand what was happening when it was happening. He was in the room when he wanted to be and out when he wanted to be. Justin was able to watch various stages of Tyler's birth. He decide in the end that he did not like the noises that I was making, but he did watch as Tyler was pushed out and to this day he is obsessed with talking about it. I am delighted that not only does my child have a good understanding about the human body but that he also has witnessed the birth of his brother, What an amazing bond they have because of it! I'm proud that Justin chose to watch the birth of his brother.

Natural Homebirth
I have had two homebirths myself, and have attended 4 homebirths and one natural hospital birth. Many women have become distant from birth. It has become so medicalized that it is nearly unheard of to have witnesses at a birth, let alone children at a birth. I feel sad about this. Every time I attend a homebirth I feel rejuvenated, alive and full of power as a woman. I witness strength and beauty and honor and faith and trust and family togetherness. I gain so much respect for all of the women and men that I have witnessed involved in the birthing process. I can honestly say that homebirth has brought me closer to my nieces and nephews, my brothers and sisters on both sides.

For me, there is no other acceptable choice in which to deliver. I could not labor in bright lights or with cords and tubes coming from my body. I have to move and be free and do what I want to do. Homebirth is a gentle and personal experience as personal as could possibly be. Every homebirth story is different and every midwife is different just as every pregnant woman and mother is different and beautiful and wonderful. Birth should be a pure experience between husband and wife and family where love and gentleness abounds to support the entire process.

I wish Crystal the best and can't wait to attend another beautiful homebirth.

I've posted pictures of Tyler's homebirth on his birth story here. I have many more pictures of homebirth that I would be happy to share, just not on the internet. If you are genuinely interested email me and I will chose appropriate ones for you to see. My favorites include pushing pictures as well as afterbirth bonding pictures.

Convenience

2008-03-15T13:57:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about the way that Americans live. I read this quote by David Johnson in the Tribune on Sunday and it really captured what I've been thinking about, "We're busy modern Americans, and sometimes we all need to go for the more convenient thing. But when our whole life model is based on convenience, I think we've lost something." I fit this model at times but am proud that there are many inconveniences that I practice for the better of my own life and the planet. For instance, I birth my babies at home and without medication (that's certainly not convenient), I cloth diaper, I recycle everything, I refuse to throw out bread crumbs or old grains of any sort, I cook with whole fresh foods, I use gentle discipline with my children, and many other things. It makes me feel good that not everything I do is convenient. I think there is personal growth when work is involved, and generally when something is convenient it takes little work to achieve something.

However, there are still many actions and decisions that I make based on convenience. I use a dishwasher and dryer. I eat out probably more than I should, I buy more than what I need so that I don't have to clean/wash stuff often, I drive my car nearly everywhere, and do lots of other convenient crap because well, I'm an American and lazy as hell. I also go crazy for fun and cute. I'm all about cute. If something is cute or funny, I buy it. Jenny spends hours in Hallmark and sends me hilarious cards for any purpose she can. I think this falls into my same values of if it's cute/funny buy it.

As far as other items that are available, the creators of products are giving us a million choices. Customizatiopn is huge right now. Everyone wants to think that they are the only one with the pink and black polka dot ipod. Honey, tons of people have it. And I'm not even going to mention the fact that all of this choice creates much more waste than is even comprehendable. I can't imagine how many items get cast aside when the next pink and white polka dot ipod comes along. It's so sad. You want customization? You want to be unique? Here's an idea...make something yourself. What a thought! Okay back to the convenience rant.

Here's the thing, is it really convenient to buy lots of toys for your child so that they never have to figure out how to entertain themsleves using their imagination, or own 20 t-shirts so you can go weeks without washing them, or eating out and losing the great conversations had during cooking, and cleanup? We are losing more and more contact with ourselves and others because we are too busy trying to make things easy on ourselves. Isn't it true that we cannot grow as people unless we become uncomfortable? We should all worry about ourselves if we have become complacent. I'm not saying happy here, I'm saying complacent. There's a difference. I believe anyone can be happy at any time, its a choice involving attitude and perspective. I need to remind myself of that often.

I wonder how different life would be if we had to make our own bread, kill and prepare our own chickens, travel on our own two feet, or make all of our own clothing and home furnishings. I think life would be a lot slower, we would spend more time with each other as human beings, we would feel more pride in ourselves and appreciate the knowledge of our frieneds more. We would be happy and life would be simpler and perhaps even more convenient because of it.

Chiropractic Care

2008-03-11T12:31:00.001-07:00

I have an amazing chiropractor named Dr. Kevin Ross. He knows so much about everything natural that he is always shooing me out the door because I ask him about everything from croup to breastfeeding. I found him while I was pregnant and Tyler was posterior. He does some amazing manipulations (called the Webster turning technique) to the hips and to the uterus to make sure that the baby can flip if he wants to. He also gave me a great laboring position to use if the baby stayed posterior to get him to flip before pushing. That worked by the way.

After I had Tyler I went in for an overhaul, an intense four weeks of 3 visits a week. I was loving it and feeling amazingly energized. I brought in Tyler to get adjusted too. Its fun to watch newborns be adjusted because you hang them by their feet and then ultimately hold them by one ankle. I noticed immediately how much better I felt and how much more energy I had. So I continued with weekly appointments.

I see Dr. Ross once a week and look forward to it all week and weekend long. I especially look forward to it if I've had some rough sleep or if the baby has had a bad fall and is crabby. I can always tell when I need to be adjusted now and can usually link a symptom to the area that I feel needs to be adjusted. I can usually tell when Tyler needs to be adjusted too. He will be whiny and grumpy and his nursing will falter. And Tyler loves Dr. Ross. He gets all excited to see him and giggles and giggles.

So, here's the thing. People think that chiropractors are quacks and that it is addictive. The only thing addictive about chiropractic care is that it works and it prevents you from getting sick so you stick with it. Think about it...the spine gets all messages to and from the brain. If your spine is out of whack and something goes wrong in your body your spine can not carry the proper message to the proper place that needs fixing. Its simple. So, if your spine is always, or mostly perfectly aligned than your body can communicate wholely and keep you healthy. Now that's not to say that you will never get sick. I am a good example as right now I am sick, but I know that the reason that I am ill is because I am stressed out and my immune system is low. I go on Mondays to get adjusted and try to think non stressful thoughts in order to clean up my bodily mess. Alright that's it. Hooray for Dr. Ross. You can find his office here if you are interested in visiting with him.

Did You Know

2008-02-03T13:17:00.001-07:00

...that I am an environmental nerd?
...that I married an environmental nerd?
...that we are proud of our nerdiness?
...that the City of Tempe NOW recycles plastics coded 1-7!? Amazing right?! Here's the list.
...that you should watch Who Killed the Electric Car?
...that you should watch or read Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth?
...that I feel inspired to breathe environmentalism down everyone's throats in a nice and calm fashion when what I really want to do is scream, "What's wrong with you people? Jesus made this planet! Take care of it jerks!"
...that Helena now drives a clunker and Bill takes the bus occasionally (I'm so proud!)?
...that I'm jealous that we don't have an orbit bus in our neighborhood?
...that I LOVE this planet? Awe!

72 Hour Kits the April Lady Way

2008-01-30T14:07:00.001-07:00

I was really excited when I jpined a class to put together 72 hour kit food storage containers. Then I obtained the list of what was to be included and realized that it just wasn't for me, or anyone in my family for that matter. Ryan and I began discussing what items we would prefer to have available to us if we were asked to leave our home quickly with little notice. This is what we have come up with, although it has yet to be boxed. Those containers are only 3.00 which is nice. I will have to get a few. Anyway, instead of making individual kits we have chosen to just put everything together.

Okay, actually here is our list:
Breakfast
granola and apple/blueberry cereal
rice milk (small juice box sized containers)
Snacks
applesauce, small containers (9 - 1/day/person)
peanut/cashew container
pepperoni
Odwalla bars (1/person)
Dinner
bear creek dehydrated soups (3 kinds)

I may swap out some soup for a dehydrated meal or two from REI. I also hope to add jerky, tuna packets, crackers and water of course. I believe the magic number is one gallon per person per day. They say you need to have comfort foods, so I will eventually add something chocolate I'm sure! I plan to replace items regularly in June and January. Hooray for me!

The other items included in our 72 hour kit, which will someday be packed into a hiking pack ready to leave at a moment's notice, are: first aid kit, clothing, basic toiletries, mess kit, crank flashlight and lantern, cards, phone card, and cash.

Tree Hugger

2007-11-26T12:25:00.001-07:00

So it is no surprise that I am a bit of a tree hugger. My family is pretty green, but we are trying to be greener. I know I whine about Ryan's absurd tree hugging at times when it's annoying but we truly have the same goals, I'm just a bit lazier than he is. Anyway, I've been doing some research to make my home a little more earth friendly. Some of my future green endeavors are: 1. compost bathroom tissues, qtips and cotton balls 2. purchase and use a bidet in the master bath 3. use corn plastic bags 4. use corn or cane paper goods for get togethers. 5. Bring cloth bags with me at all shopping ventures. 6. purchase a hybrid vehicle. 7. purchase a low water usage toilet 8. figure out a way to use our grey water

Here are some things that our family does that are good for the planet if you are looking for some ideas:

Installed and use solar panels

reusable air filter (you vacuum and rinse it off)

compost kitchen scraps, lawn trimmings

give birds our hair (I know it sounds dumb but it'd just be sitting in a landfill somewhere)

use cloth diapers

use g diapers (these are biodegradable. you can compost them or flush them)

breastfeed (no bottles, no warming, no waste, no packaging)

recycle everything we can (even on a walk we pick up bottles and cans, although I hate this)

use earth friendly cleaning supplies (store bought or homemade)

Ryan rides a bike

Garden

use cloth bags for produce and groceries

I hope this list gets you excited about being green!