And baby makes 3

Yep, we are pregnant again. None of our children were planned per say but we have welcomed everyone of them. I am about 4 weeks along now, the dog food making me queasy was our E.P.T.
   I am very excited about this pregnancy because I will get the chance to practice all the interesting holistic ideas I found out about after Miranda was born. For starters, there is a pregnancy tea that I found out about when I was looking for a lactation tea. It's called tea for two and it is amazing. It doesn't need to be sweetened for me (and I live for sweet tea). It also helps with morning sickness, which with two under 4, there is no way I well be able to slow down for that.
   Next, I am very excited that I found out about some yoga moves that a will help with the pregnancy and labor. Unfortunately, I haven't lost any of my pregnancy weight from Miranda and everything I have researched says not to loose weight while pregnant. I am hoping that with not having the pressures of working out side the home, eating more real foods, doing yoga, and staying hydrated, I might be able to maintain my weight or just become more healthy for the baby's sake.
   As I mentioned earlier, I am moving away from processed everything and trying to just feed me and my family real foods. By real food I mean whole (not overly processed with heat or chemicals) chemicals, artificial anything, and gmos. This had been a goal my family has been working toward for years. We have slowly changed eating habits to more homemade fairs and have almost eliminated shopping from the middle of the grocery store. Some of our next moves are buying in bulk and sprouting grain then milling it to make flour.
   These are just a few of the things I am excited about for this pregnancy. We will be using our midwife again if this proves to be a pretty normal pregnancy and God willing have another home birth.
I will be keeping y'all posted more frequently and reorganizing my blog here soon.

T minus and counting too moving day

We finally found a homestead to buy. Now while we are playing the waiting game with banks and inspection and what not, I am desperately trying to get everything organized and packed again. Did I mention I hate packing just slightly less than I hate moving. At least this should be the last time God willing and the creek don't rise.
   Goal 1 is to get caught up on laundry and as I fold I am inspecting everything and anything that needs to start over goes in the donation bag. There is also the bag of no hope for all the holey clothes we have enjoyed a little too much. Strangely enough doing this has greatly reduced the amount of laundry I am doing every week.
   Goal 2 has been even harder and that is going through my son's toys and making the broken ones disappear. He is a very smart boy and knows when something is missing. He has confronted me several times about his favorite car with three wheels.
   That's about all I have time for right now. Just normal cleaning, parenting, homeschooling, homesteading, cooking, you know home making stuff. Of course, if I can keep up with that then I will be better prepared for the move.

Pre K at home

Conner will be turning 3 years old in October and many of my friends with kids his age are putting them in pre k. I am assuming this is the age for it. He is very smart and has picked up a lot already as you have seen with his cooking and cleaning. I would definitely say he is on track or ahead of his peers.

So next week we will be starting our pre k. We have our library trip planned for Monday. We are going to try the letter a day program I found. It's free, a major plus, and it seems simple.

The main thing is a learning board. This is where I got creative. Instead of making 26 different boards for every week, I made 6 signs ( theme, shape/color, number, vocabulary word, letter, nursery rhyme) and taped them to the fridge door. Also, I am finding workbook pages to tape under each label for him to work on.

In addition to working with Conner, I am hoping that some of this may rub off on Miranda. She is very observant for her age. I have an app on my phone to track her progress and she has hit all her milestones up to 4 months and she is only 2 months.

I am also hoping that this will give our day some more structure so I can document and research items about homesteading, schooling and cooking. I plan on making a seperate blog to follow the experience of homeschooling my children. So keep an eye out for it.

Cloth diapers my way

After two years of disposable diapers with Conner, I was fed up with them.  I hated how quickly the diaper pail filled and how full the garbage can was all the time. I hated when they busted open. But most of all I hated paying $20 a box for something I was going to throw in in garbage. The hunt for a better way was on.

Of course there were many who didn't understand why I wanted to put more work on my shoulders with cloth diapers but I was determined. I researched as much as I could and realized I wasn't alone in wanting something else.

There seemed to be three groups on the subject. First, there are the environmentalist that want to switch to feel they are helping save the planet. It makes since that not throwing away 10+ diapers a day for one baby for 2 years. Lets follow the math 10*365*2=7,300 diapers from one kid. (Don't start doing the math on if the hubby changed his fair share).

Then there are the trend setters. If a celebrity does it, endorses it or mentions it them it must be cool. Not many admit to this group but they exist

Then there is my group, those tired of paying for garbage. There are numerous ways to go about this but this is what I am doing. I went to Walmart and bought 5 packs of the gerber prefolds and a diaper pail. Then I went to target.com and bought 3 thirsties diaper covers with snaps. I lay two of the prefolds in the diaper cover like a thick feminine pad and snap it closed.

Now, when you first get the prefolds, wash them 6 or 7 times in a row to get the oil off of them so they will actually absorb something. Because I double up on prefolds I do laundry every day or every other day. It costs about $120 up front to go this route but compared to what I would have spent on disposables. Back to the math 1 kid *10 diapers per day *365 days per year *2 years =7,300 diapers per kid's diaper age /100 diapers per box optimistically *$20 per box of generic diapers = $1,430 thrown directly in the garbage. For the finally of my math fun $120 < $1,430.

When I finished with the visual of pitting that much money in the garbage made me sick. I also can't go back because Miranda os allergic to the disposable diapers.

Baby olymics

While watching the relay races, I hear thumping in the background. Turning my attention to my son he takes.off after a very loud "ready, set, GO! ". And he's off around the corner, over a pair of boots, sharp turn around the toy castle and finished with a dive into my pillow. It's amazing the imagination he has.
It's this imagination that worries me about homeschooling him. I don't doubt the decision, I am nervous about holding his attention. He learns so quickly it worries me that I won't be able to keep up. He picks up stuff so fast that I have absolutely no clue where he is getting it.
We are hoping to start home school on labor day for preschool. The board is made and the library list is ready. I am very excited to start this journey.

Archery lesson number one

After looking at our future home, we all went to sportsmans outdoors to look at bows for the upcoming season. We got a recurve to try and keep in mind I haven't shot one since before my last pregnancy. I used to be a pretty good shot but the first shot I snap my forearm... painful but not terrible. The second shot, the guy helping us tries to help me correct me hold. This time the string hits the inside of my elbow and drags to my forearm. Again painful but not unbearable. Then the bruise shows up and encompasses all of my elbow. It looks so much worse than it felt. Long story short we bought the recurve and I cannot wait for my arm to heal a bit to shot it again. Yes I am slightly crazy.

New house

So hoping for this to go through. We found a house on 9 acres that I have absolutely fallen in love with. What makes it better is it is surrounded by 120+ acres that is also for sale. We can't afford to get it all at once but I would love the opportunity to expand.

We are hoping to start substance farming- kitchen garden, chickens, boar goats, and honey bees. After all that is established I want to start a heard of angora goats to harvest fiber for spinning yarn. We are also playing with the idea of cows but gor now goats is the road I am choosing.

Also the kitchen is perfect for canning and processing veggies and meat, not to mention a huge pantry for storage. Oh, the previous owners are leaving the dishwater. Yay! I have never owned a dishwasher before.

I need a lot of prayers a good wishes if you don't mind. This is our dream come true