Urban homesteading

I come by it honestly, I really do.  I grew up running around on five acres of land, climbing trees, milking goats, collecting eggs, running with the dogs, and even (for awhile) riding a horse.  Mom had a tremendous vegetable garden out back, not to mention wide swaths of flower gardens surrounding the house, and my dad used to give her weedwackers and rototillers as gifts.  So it really isn't that strange (right? right?) that I would end up fascinated by the urban homesteading movement.  I may live in the city, but at my core I'm a country girl, and you can only keep that bottled up inside for so long!

So in the six months since we moved into our house on 10,000 square feet of land, and the 5 months since Timothy made his entrance, I've been digging, and planting, and weeding, and watering, and rounding up friends to help me move insane things like chicken coops.

I just re-read that sentence, and realized that this may not be quite normal. 

Anyway, here is an update on my little urban homestead.

1) We have CHICKENS!  Six of them, to be precise, which is the maximum that the city will allow on our parcel of land.  They sleep in this cute little blue coop, but during the day they range around our back yard, eating bugs, scratching up all kinds of trash from the previous owners (which is good, because then I can gather it and throw it away!) and giving themselves dust baths under the trees.  Happy birds, yes they are.

 And when they're not molting, they lay beautiful eggs.

2) I'm composting.  Everything.  I really can't seem to help myself.  But I didn't want a loose, messy pile for the dog to play in, so I picked up some pallets (thank you, craigslist free page!)

 conscripted some helpers,

and built a large "containment field" for the big compost pile in the back.

This is the long-term pile that will slowly work its magic over a year or two.  This photo was taken a few weeks ago, and the left side is now entirely full.  In the next few days I'll probably turn it, and then start filling up the other side.

For quicker production, I have worms!  I've experimented with worm bins for some years now, and I really like them.  Right now I have a typical set of five stacking trays, which I purchased (used, on craigslist).  I like it a lot for ease of use, but it is limited in size and scope.  So on Sunday I started making an "in ground" worm bin.  It is made of cinderblocks, with wire mesh down the center to split it into two halves.  I add kitchen scraps to the "working" side until full, and the worms eat it up and then migrate through the mesh to the fresh scraps on the other side. I'm hoping that by giving the worms more room, they will breed lots more little wormies and eat their way through the scraps that much faster. 





3) Actual gardening has been sparser than I'd have liked, due to the timing of our move.  By the time we got into the house and I'd actually birthed the baby, high summer was in full swing.  I got some cherry tomatoes in, and they have done well. I rarely get to use them in the kitchen, because the boys eat them right off the plant.  Not that I'm complaining!  Mostly I've been trying to revive plants that were already here, weed, and weed, and weed, and weed, and WEED (I'm losing), and plant some easy things like radishes and poppies since Thomas and Josiah are studying plants right now.



That's ok.  I'm focusing on long-term goals and trying to remember that even though Southern California's weather is bizarre, it still really is autumn, and winter is coming, and this is the appropriate time to be putting gardens to bed, composting, and cover-cropping to renew and replenish the soil. 

That's all for now; the (nearly five months, can you believe it!?) baby needs me.  By the way, he has started to hold a toy, which is adorable.  And also grab his pacifier, pull it out of his mouth, and then drop it.  Useful skill, that.

Six weeks as a family of six

I guess the most notable thing about being a family of six (at least notable to you, if you're reading this, and really probably no one is anymore...) is that I have NO time to blog.  I've been keeping hasty little notes on my phone in a vain attempt to not forget all the little unforgettable moments that come with a new baby, and telling myself that I will blog about all of them - eventually.

All that to say that it is quite likely this will be the last blog post my corner of the internet will see, at least for quite a long time.

But for now, let's catch up, shall we?



After days and days and days of being VERY PREGNANT,
I finally went into labor at 41 weeks and 4 days.  And for all that I knew the statistics and the normality of being so-called-"late", and even though I could tell myself what I always tell my clients ("your body and your baby know exactly when to go into labor") it sure felt like I would be pregnant forever.











 Anyway.  Some of the labor was pretty good,













and some not so great. Transition lasted way too long (it usually does, from the mama's perspective!) and Timothy's shoulders got stuck on the way out. Ouch.














 But at the end, there was a baby. :)

The kids were there for the birth, too, which was pretty special.  I'm glad we planned it that way.













I had the best midwife in the whole world.  Sue has helped me birth three of our four kids!


And we had wonderful helpers: Lani was my doula, and Sean and Carolyn were caregivers for the older boys during my labor.  We have good, good friends and I have been so grateful for all of them, not only during the birth but in the days leading up to them (Kristen, thank you for all the time in the pool!) and afterward (people bringing meals and coming over to clean and/or play with the kids).  Thank you to all of you: your gifts have blessed us!






































Jonathan, Thomas, and Josiah have been amazing big brothers.  They love having a new addition to the family! 

One of the early days after Timothy's birth, he started fussing and Josiah came barreling into our bedroom crying "Oh, he NEEDS me!!"















Timothy has been a remarkably laid back baby since birth.  He manages to sleep through the very loud chaos of three older brothers in a house with wood floors!  (Seriously, the kids sound like baby elephants tromping around.) At night he sleeps with Gabe and me, and I have been pleasantly surprised at how much sleep I actually get.












He had his first bath when he was about 2 weeks old.  Turns out he likes the water!  Jonathan thinks this makes sense, seeing as he's been "swimming" for the previous nine months.














At four weeks old he started giving us real smiles.  There is nothing as sweet as a baby smiling back at you.  Around the same time he finally figured out how to grip with his hands.  Most of the time babies come out with strong grasping reflexes, but Timothy really didn't.  He never held onto our fingers or grabbed my hair or anything like that.  So it was extra sweet when the first thing he did after learning to grasp was to put his arms around my neck and grab my shoulders while being burped.  It's a baby hug! :)

At five weeks he outgrew all the 0-3 baby clothes that we'd been given (the newborn size never fit at all!)  He also realized that it was nicer to be held than not, and I got to start using the sling much more frequently.  Smart little baby!

Which brings us to the present, in which he found his thumb and sucked it for the first time, and is starting to coo at me.  Sometimes when he's nursing he'll pull away for a minute, smile, coo, and then nuzzle back to nursing.  As Sarah would say, love love love.




I do love these handsome boys of mine. 

27 weeks

Pictures don't always turn out quite right when a certain 7 year old takes them for you. :)  I wanted a picture of my 27 week belly, and he wanted to include the pink tulips in the garden.  So the lighting is a bit off, but you get the idea!

This was my semi-professional "look" that I wore to a meeting with the principal at our neighborhood public school.  I wanted something more put together than yoga pants and a t-shirt!  The pants are a lovely dove-grey pinstripe that I found for $6 at Savers (you can't really see them in the photo - sorry).  The shirt is borrowed from a friend, and the pearls are a legacy from my grandmother.  It was nice to feel pretty!

Oh, and the school meeting went really, really well!  I met a lot of teachers, observed about six different classes, and was very impressed with the passion and pride that is clearly evident in the teachers and administrative leadership.  It looks like a good place for our kids next year.

Things that are making me happy today

This morning, while I was cooking breakfast, Jonathan asked Gabe and I to please not come into our room because he was "working on a surprise".  I was surprised indeed when he proudly led us into our room, where we saw this:

He had picked everything up, carefully made our bed (with all the decorative pillows!) and even lit the candle beside the bed.  At the end of the bed was a card, which said the following:

From Jonathan
to mom and dad.
I love you 5,000 tims more evry secent 

 That boy has a deep sweetness inside, and I am so blessed to be the recipient of his surprises!

And the second thing to make me smile?

Beautiful tulips that bloom in spite of the utter lack of care I have been devoting to my poor neglected garden. 

"Behold, I make all things new."  Revelation 21:5

This is one competent 7 year old!

This afternoon I fell asleep while the kids were watching their movie. Two hours later I woke up to find that the kids had put themselves in quiet time, and Jonathan, who said he "didn't want to be in the bedroom and disturb me" had CLEANED THE HOUSE.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  He had put all the toys and art supplies away (no small feat, after our busy morning!) put away the food from lunch time, organized my desk, and wiped down all the counters and the table.  Oh, and rinsed the dishes and started the dishwasher.  This is what the house looked like when I got up.

Kitchen:

Table:


Living room:


Desk:


He even lined up my pens.  I may have walked around with a stunned expression for awhile.

And then praised and thanked him extravagantly.  Because you know what?  That was an extravagant gift that he gave me. 

And it was definitely the best way to wake up EVER! :)

Pregnancy, week 19

It is hard to take a good belly photo of myself, but now that I'm looking actually pregnant (rather than simply thick around the middle!) I thought it might be a good time to try.  Thanks to Mom and Dad for the cute shirt!  This is the first actual maternity shirt that I've worn this pregnancy.  The jeans are still my regular ones, with a bella band (fabulous invention!) to hold them up. :)

And here is an illustration of what our peanut probably looks like right now. Eeety Bity Living Space!

Painless projects for preschoolers! {YES!!}

A few days ago, I read a review on Ain't No Mom Jeans for the Kiwi Crate.  The stellar review combined with a lovely $10 off coupon code was too good to pass up.  Not only that, but the company was even offering free shipping!  (I signed up.)  Unexpectedly, the shipping was also FAST.  Our crate arrived yesterday and we opened it this morning.  

It was a HUGE hit.  The box is small, but it was packed with goodies.  Cardboard penguins with markers and stickers for decorating them, Fiskar scissors for little hands, Pentel oil pastels and watercolor paints, penguin postcards ready to become masterpieces, a penguin shaped ice cube tray, and instruction booklets that also include fun facts and interesting "explore more!" experiments to try.

The boxes are geared towards kids ages 3-7, and I'd say that Kiwi Crate personnel are spot on in their age assessment.  Josiah (4) and Thomas (5) were the most interested in longer term play with the penguins, but Jonathan (7) was just as interested in creating them.  Jonathan especially enjoyed the inclusion of "real oil pastels!"

 

This is exactly the kind of thing that the kids always want to do with me, but usually is too daunting for me to pull off by myself.  After all, I'd have to spend time combing the internet for the do-able crafts, then go to the store for craft materials (which, frankly, would probably cost more to get at Michaels than the whole Kiwi Crate cost!)  And by the time I got home I wouldn't want to do the project AT ALL.  

{Someone tell me that I'm not the only one who feels this way about projects? Please?}

The kids were thrilled with their penguin "family", and after bowling for a bit ended up taking them to bed with them for quiet time.

Bottom line: I highly recommend Kiwi Crate.  Purchase through a link in this post and you'll get $10 off your first month's box, and I get referral credit too (which is always nice). :)  It is a monthly subscription that you're signing up for, but the website is easy to navigate and if you decide you don't want to continue, you can deactivate your subscription with a click.  Considering the results of this first box, I plan to continue my subscription indefinitely.  This is perfect for preschool/kindergarten and I know my boys will look forward to their box each month!

Necessity is the mother of invention

Jonathan loves to create things.  If it were up to him, each day would be one long string of experiments, projects, and inventions.  I can't even begin to keep up with all the things he wants to do!  This morning we made this wreath together. 




He had a surprisingly good eye for balance and design!  Then later, he went to the store with Daddy to get the needed groceries, so that he could make soup for lunch all by himself.  I interpreted the directions, and he did all the cutting himself, except for the onion (slippery skins!)  I'm not sure the result was quite his favorite, but he was very proud!

I'm trying to look at my lack of energy and frequent time spent in bed or on the couch as an opportunity to teach Jonathan to be more independent in his creating.  Today he certainly managed well!

Edited to add: Christmas gifts for family and friends are going to be homemade this year - Jonathan's idea and another fun project for us to do together! :)

Homemade lego advent calendar

Jonathan created his very own Lego advent calendar this year. 

The first four days we found the following treasures:
Day 1: Shepherd and lamb
Day 2: Three kings, bearing gifts
Day 3: the Star of Bethlehem in Christmas colors
Day 4: King Herod

I love the creativity!  Who needs $50 advent calendars when you have a 7 year old boy to make them for you!

On houses and cleaning them

I've been browsing Angie's List frequently these past few months, getting ready for our big house remodel project.  (Did I forget to tell you?  WE OWN A NEW HOUSE!)

It is more than half as big again as our current condo, and it has three bedrooms.  I can't tell you how excited I am to not share a bedroom with a child...soon, very soon! :)  (First we have to fix it up.  So "soon" will probably be 2-3 months.  But still!)

But back to what I meant to write about.  In browsing Angie's List, I found an amazing deal for 3 hours of deep housecleaning.  I had been feeling so overwhelmed, and on top of it all had worked a 3 day birth (and thus had some extra money in the budget) so I bought it.  Monday morning a team of lovely women came to my house, asked a couple of questions, and got to work.  I took the boys to McDonald's and the park and came back three hours later.

My house?  It SPARKLED.  The place was spotless.  When they said "deep cleaning", they meant it...they had cleaned the baseboards, people.  And the overhead fan.  And the bathtub!  My stove, which used to have black crud crusted around the burner I use most, looks almost new.  They even stripped the beds and put fresh sheets on them. 

I feel like a heavy burden that I didn't even know I was carrying has suddenly disappeared.  I love living in a clean house.  Everything seems easier!  This morning after we finished school, I got out my old set of chore cards and actually did six of the "seasonal" cards.  Now my bathroom not only looks clean, it is actually clean inside the cabinets.  You can't see it, but I know it, and that makes a difference to me.  Tomorrow I think I may wash the curtains.  :)

So to any other moms who have been feeling dragged down and unable to get ahead: if you can afford it, hire a house cleaner.  It isn't just for super rich folks...and it is totally, totally worth it.

The One Thing with SarahMarie

Life has been just about as busy and stressful here lately as I can ever remember it being.  I am homeschooling the boys, which adds a couple of extra hours of work to our list of "daily expectations" (that is without considering fussing/whining/complaining time).  I'm continuing work as a doula, which brings me joy but also entails a good number of evenings away at work.  And of course once or twice a month everything gets dropped while I attend a birth.  We're in the process of buying a house - I have never read, signed, scanned and emailed so many pieces of paper in my life.  Escrow was supposed to close last week but...we're still working on it.  I was in a car accident a little over a week ago and got a bad enough case of whiplash to need to see the chiropractor 2-3 times each week.  Ouch.  Next month Father David is retiring and I'm helping organize the creation of a memory book for him.  It is a grand project and will be spectacular when it is finished, but oh my, the emails!  The phone calls!  The cutting and pasting (both digital and physical)!  Then we're involved in a church plant and I am the new liturgist and choir director (oh joy! oh terror!)  And believe it or not, my boys all seem to think they should still get fed at regular intervals and have clean clothes to wear!  I know, I think they're quite unreasonable too.

So when SarahMarie asked me to participate in her "The One Thing" link up, my initial response (in her comment section) was this:

I probably ought to join in on this, but I have so many dang THINGS TO DO that it sounds almost laughably impossible. . . maybe I will get a large box of chocolates, curl up on the couch, and read about your accomplishments instead. That sounds far more achievable. can that be my one thing?

 And I still feel that way.  Only maybe not so gently stated.  Perhaps something more like "I HAVE TOO MANY THINGS TO DO AND TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO NEED ME AND I'M GOING TO CRY IF ANYONE ASKS ME TO DO ANYTHING ELSE!"

So you know what?  I did one thing last week.  And since I'm totally not kidding about the insane quantity of things that I must do, I'm going to be proud of that one thing for the week.  Actually two things, since I'm pretty sure blogging about it should count. :) 

Sarah, you're right that it helps.  Every time I look at my counter with it's pretty fall decorations, it makes me smile.  Thank you for the nudge to keep trying for beauty and small accomplishments in my life. 

New look

I think I like it, although without the glasses I suddenly realized that I don't look twenty anymore. :)

LASIK recovery was not as easy for me as it apparently is for most people.  Also, the surgery itself reminded me very much of scary science fiction.  My husband may or may not have given me that idea ahead of time by mentioning a certain scene in Minority Report. 

Two weeks post-surgery I am happy with the results.  (Not enough to do it again, though!)

Illuminated Science Narration (only homeschooling, right?)

This morning I got to see an amazing synthesis of learning, and it was entirely self directed.  Jonathan asked if I would type while he dictated a narration.  Of course I said yes!  He proceeded to narrate a fabulous summary of the science we've been studying (and which, to be honest, I thought had been going in one ear and out the other!) He specified that the first letter needed to be very large, like an illuminated manuscript.  Then we printed it on cream colored card stock, and he drew pictures of flowers around the edges, and added gold "leaf" paint.




Here is the text, since it can't be easily read from the photo:

All About Plants

When a seed falls to the ground, it gets buried, and whatever the parent plant was, it turns into the same thing, only slightly different.  When seeds start growing, they are small.  When it starts growing and pops out of the ground, it is about 1/8 of an inch tall. 

After it pops out of the ground, you water it every day, and it grows.  It also needs good soil and sundlight.  As it grows, the stem grows up.  But for my plants, when it was big the leaves got too heavy, and now the stems are hanging out everywhere.  The roots grow down, because of gravity.

As the plant grows, it makes flowers.  At least, some plants do.  The flowers turn into the fruit. 

Bugs eat your plants a lot!  Which is why I want to plant some plants that when the flies or anything land in them, they’ll shut their mouths!

The fruit gets eaten.  Sometimes they get too old, and their seeds drop.  And a new plant grows!

Days like today make me so happy that we chose to homeschool!

Edited to add: of course right this moment he is quite sure that I, the world, and life in general is UTTERLY UNFAIR because he has to do a math page.  Just in case anyone was under the impression that it is all sunshine and roses around here. :)

Birthday secrets!

My two older boys have independently chosen and paid for birthday gifts for Josiah's upcoming celebration day.  Jonathan found a lego detective minifigure on ebay, and Thomas (prompted by the "Frances" stories) chose a candy bar.  Both gifts are safely stashed on a very high shelf and there is much "shhhushing" and speaking of "secrets".  It is great fun to be in on such a secret!  I'm so proud of both of them.

Grain Free Pumpkin Spice Cake

This cake gets a big smiling stamp of approval from all three boys, and I definitely agree.  By far this is the most success I've had with grain free baking.

Recipe originally from detoxinista - thank you!



1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup almond butter
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger (I left this out because I didn't have any)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8" x 8" pan generously with coconut oil.

Combine all the ingredients and mix well until a smooth batter forms.  (This takes longer than you might think - I let my kitchenaid do the work for a few minutes.)

Pour batter into the pan and bake for 20-35 minutes (original recipe says 20-25, but mine took 35 before being firm in the center.)

Allow to cool completely in the pan, then cut and enjoy!

My growing young man

I have been so impressed with Jonathan lately. He is bright and driven and passionate about everything that he does, and it is so neat to see his passion directed toward good things.

He's been quite entrepreneurial in the past weeks, creating money-making opportunities with various friends. One day they drew pictures and chose toys from their stash, then set up a box outside by the road and sold everything for 50 cents each. Another evening they dressed up as police officers and wrote "tickets", then handed them out to adults for various infractions and requested payment. (That one slipped by us mothers until after the fact - we explained that while it was very clever, it was probably not a game that should be repeated!) The kids have carefully divided their cash between all involved, and Jonathan has tithed on it faithfully.

This week Jonathan has been attending VBS, and the children are collecting pennies for African missions. Yesterday evening inspiration struck, and Jonathan created his very own juice blend (oranges, carrots, and spinach) in the vitamix, then carried cups of it door to door and sold it to raise pennies for Africa. He collected just over $10 and was SO proud of himself when he brought it to the VBS donation bin!

I'm seeing a lot of initiative from Jonathan in other areas as well. He frequently asks me to show him how to get his own snack, instead of just asking me to do it for him. He is enjoying learning some kitchen basics, although his refusal to touch a knife is a bit limiting. (The first time I let him try cutting with a "real knife", his hand slipped and he cut his hand. He hasn't wanted to try again yet!) But it sure is neat to be able to say "Quesadillas are a great plan for lunch. Go ahead and start getting them ready!" :)

On Monday Jonathan started taking gymnastics lessons. He has asked to do that off and on for some years, and watching the Olympics added to his desire. With no one napping in the afternoon anymore, it is now possible to add such things to our schedule! He is so excited. Today was his second lesson, and afterward his teacher asked me if he'd been in gymnastics before. Apparently he has good skills and focus, and his teacher wants to switch him into the pre-team class that meets for 2 hours instead of one, and is designed to get him ready for team competition. This is fabulous news for my competitive, flexible, (short!) and driven little guy! He is loving every minute of his time in the gym and wants to know why he can't go every day. :)

There are many other things: emerging empathy for those who are sick or injured, his love of good stories (he's reading The Hobbit with Gabe right now!) the complex creations that he enters in Lego competitions, and two nights ago he stayed up late so that we could teach him how to play Dominion with us. (He has now won, twice in a row.) It has been a good summer for my boy.



When I tuck all my boys in at night, part of my prayer for them is that they would grow up to be "a good, strong young man." It is pretty wonderful to get to watch that start to happen.