Experiencing 4-H

This past year was our second year in 4-H.  The first year we joined an official club, but unfortunately we didn't learn a lot about actually participating in a project and entering the fair.  It was a great year filled with fun activities and interesting learning experiences, but we left still not knowing how to prepare for and enter the fair.

Our second year was much different.  A fellow homeschool mom and myself formed our own little "farm group" with our two families.  The kids chose the meeting topics, and we planned the lessons.  Our meetings were run by the kids in a fashion very similar to an official 4-H club.  We chose to remain unofficial, and it seems to have been a perfect choice for us.

Anyone can enter the fair, so we spent the year facilitating the process of preparation for each child.  All in all five of our children entered the fair, and it was an amazing experience all the way around.  Bella and Avery are both looking forward to participating next year.  It was difficult to rope them in this year, but they are much more interested having seen Harmony go through the full process.  We also took some time in the still exhibit barn exploring what others entered in their age groups since they would be Clover Sprouts.  There were some pretty interesting things to behold.

Initially, Harmony was interested in entering two projects in the fair; drop cookies and photography.  Ultimately, we decided to go with one project; drop cookies.  She found a recipe via my vast Pinterest collection that sounded good to her, and she set about making it her own.  Beginning in February she started practicing her recipe and altering it to her liking.  The most challenging part for her was learning to make the cookies all a consistent size despite using a cookie scoop.  After a little concerted effort she's pretty well got it down.

She was super nervous about the interview process, but it went wonderful.  I'm glad she had the experience.  I'm sure she won't be quite as worried next year.  The judges are super friendly, and it really isn't an intimidating process at all.  The two comments she got on her recipe were "very, very good" and "good job knowing the recipe".  She worked on it so much that she pretty much had it memorized by the time she made them for the judges.

Here's a little scrap book of her experience:

She is super proud, and so are we.  I don't think any of us expected anything like this.  What a wonderful first time experience it was for us.  If you've been thinking about 4-H for your family, I cannot recommend it enough.  Whether you join an official club, meet with some friends, or do it on your own it's totally worth it.  We are fortunate to live right near the fairgrounds in our county, and fair week is much anticipated in our family.  Now that we're actually part of the program it will bring even greater anticipation and excitement.  So glad we finally did it!

GF Pizza Cups

My kids love, love, love to cook!  They especially love it when they can do a lot of it by themselves.  That's why Pizza Cups are perfect.  I got the idea from Pinterest a while back via Serious Eats , and it's been a go to menu item ever since, especially when the kids have company.  Since I've developed a sensitivity to wheat, we use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix.  It's wonderful.  Even the hubby likes it, and that's saying A LOT.  However, I do use half of the dough to make the Pizza Cups for the kids and the other half to make a rustic style pizza for us.  It's nice to have an "adult pizza" all to ourselves.  I know you can understand.

Here's how we do it:

While the dough is rising and the oven is preheating,
prepare your favorite toppings.

Roll out dough onto floured surface.

Cut dough into appropriate number of squares.

Form dough squares into prepare muffin tin.

Add sauce to muffin cups.  Call in the crazies kids!

Each kid gets to assemble their pizza cup as desired.

Bake at 425-degrees for 10-15 minutes depending on oven and dough used.

Behold the beautiful deliciousness!

We like to have our Pizza Cups with salad.

Our family LOVES these food trays!

I always forget to pre-bake the crust!
It still turns out, but it is much better if you actually follow the package directions.

Rustic Pizza for the hubby and I.  YUM!

St. Patrick's Day - A Family Tradition

The heritage I was raised with growing up was to know and embrace my Irish roots.  It is with pride that I think on the land from which my family came.  There are fond memories of my Irish family members, their ambitions, their struggles and their triumphs.  My paternal grandparents did a wonderful job of instilling us with Irish pride.  Above everything, it was the greatest thing they gave me; my identity as an Irish American.

Growing up we celebrated St. Patrick's Day in a big way.  There was always wonderful food, stout, and the Chieftans on television.  I have vivid memories of gathering around the television in my grandparents basement, fire blazing, cozy blanket, and the lively Chieftans performing on screen.  Those memories are all happy.

As I got older I continued the tradition with my own family.  Mostly I did it for my dad, as few of my children even like corned beef.  What I didn't realize is that this is something they would grow to enjoy and look forward to as they got older and ventured on their own.  Imagine my surprise when some of my older children were still at home, and some of them were on their own, and I started getting phone calls asking what we were doing for St. Patrick's Day.  Over time our traditions have developed as such that we gather as a family twice a year; once at Christmas and once at St. Patrick's Day.  Since our family is so large we now make traditional Irish Stew instead of corned beef, which is rather costly to feed 30 people.  Sometimes I make Irish Soda Bread or Scones, and we keep it simple as it would have been at its origin.

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day in your family?  Are you Irish by birth, or just Irish at heart?  Is there a different celebration that takes place in your family based on your cultural heritage?  I would absolutely love to hear about it.

Here are some of my favorite recipes and resources for making St. Patrick's Day special with family and friends:

The Food

Irish Beef and Stout Stew

My niece shared this recipe with me a couple years back, and I have been making it ever since.  It was a huge hit right from the start, and it is SO simple to make.  I make it in the crockpot, though.  It takes two large pots to feed our big family, with no leftovers!  Maybe I'll make three this year.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

This recipe is very similar to how I make my corned beef.  I am inconsistent as to how I prepare it.  Some years I make it in a large roasting pan in the oven.  Other years I do the crockpot method.  It just depends on my schedule and my mood.  Both are simple and tasty.  My husband likes his served with horseradish, and I like mine with stone ground mustard.  No matter what I always make enough for leftovers.  It makes great hash, bubble and squeak, and sandwiches; on rye bread of course.

Shamrock Shake

As a kid it was always something to look forward to getting a Shamrock Shake from a certain fast food restaurant.  That was before the state of our food system was in question, and most of the food we still ate was actually real.  As an adult I got a Shamrock Shake for old time sake, after which my name for it became "chemical spooge".  It's vile stuff that bears no resemblance to its former self.  This recipe from Your Homebased Mom is a refreshing alternative minus the chemical storm provided by the fast food industry.

Irish Soda Bread

Another one of my favorite St. Patrick's Day foods is Irish Soda Bread.  My family doesn't all like it.  However, making just one loaf is super simple, so I often make it just because I like it.  We all need those little things that we do just for us, and making soda bread is one of those things I don't mind doing just for myself.  I mean, it is only once a year, people.  This is one of those little effort equals big pay off kind of things.  I love things like that!  If you can get it, Gooseberry Jam is perfect on Irish Soda Bread, and Cooking Melangery dishes out the perfect recipe.

A Little Irish History

St. Patrick's Day on the History Channel

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day 2015

Irish History Online

Ireland

Fun Crafts and Activities for the Kids

A fun craft using free paint chips from the hardware store via the Child Care Land Blog.

Being Creative has a fun recipe for St. Pat's Day Play Dough.

There's a fun treasure hunt printable over at Oopsey Daisy.

For even more fun ideas for celebrating St. Patrick's Day with your family 

you can visit my Pinterest page.  

Don't forget to leave me a comment and share how you celebrate St. Patrick's Day, or your own personal cultural heritage, with your family!

Resource Guide

Here is a list of the follow up resources I promised from the Healthy, Happy, Homemaker devotion earlier this week.  I hope you find something that contributes positively to your health, happiness, and/or homemaking.

The Time Warp Wife

Bible.com (YouVersion)

Pepperplate

Pinterest

Happiness App – Happy Habits

Free Homeschool Deals

The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Ormartian

The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children by Stormie Ormartian

The Love Dare by Steven Kendrick

The One Minute Mother by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

Your Relationship with God by Dr. Gary Smalley

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach

Women of Life Study Guide Series(LifeWay.com)

The Confident Woman by Anabel Gillham

Jesus Lives by Sarah Young

Peaceful Parent, Happy Kid by Dr. Laura Markham

Living in a Spirit of Gratefulness

Gratitude is a lifestyle choice.  When we choose to focus on the things that are good around us we can do great things for ourselves, our families, and our community.  Choosing gratitude literally changes our lives spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  There are many resources available to scientifically show the benefits to us, as well as those around us, when we practice gratitude in our daily lives.  The more we are aware of the abundance in which we live the more we are able to give of ourselves.

As a child of God, wife, mother, home educator, and nana it is important to me to feed my soul so that I have enough left of myself to give to those that count on me as well as those that God puts in my path during my day to day living.  Over the years I have learned a few simple ways to keep my spirit fed, and I have gathered a few tools that help make the task a little more simple.  To maintain full disclosure you must know that I have neither maintained all of these practices during all phases of my life, nor have I practiced them all simultaneously.  They are simply things that I know from experience that are beneficial to a strong and consistent spiritual walk as well as a healthy outlook on life that keeps my focus where it should be in order that I may be as healthy as I can to perform my God given responsibilities in my daily living.

There are many resources for the study of God's Word.  I have a couple favorites.  The first is the Women of Faith Bible Study Series.  This is a collection of guides on various topics that can be studied alone or in small groups.  Normally when I do these studies I space each chapter over a week's time.  It is easiest for me to find say 15 minutes preferably at the start of my day, but anytime throughout where I can sneak in a few minutes works for me, so these studies are ideal.  I recently discovered that Women of Faith also has a free app that offers an abundance of free resources.  My second favorite resource is available through YouVersion.  It is a bible app that I access through my computer, smart phone, and my Kindle Fire.  It is free, so I am very grateful for that.  :)  Personally, I use it primarily for the actual bible studies that it offers.  There are literally hundreds available.  It is easy to sign up, and the "catch me up" feature is my favorite.  Anytime I manage to fall behind, and this happens more than I care to admit, I can simply ask it to restart from the last date that I completed.  On any given day I do anywhere from one to say three or even four studies.  I am currently doing a parenting study and a faith study.  In the past I have completed studies on the topics of marriage, Christmas, Hosea, Finances, and Easter to name a few.  The list of topics is limitless.

One of the most beneficial practices to my mental health and my ability to maintain a spirit of gratitude is journaling.  Over the years I have kept my gratitude journal in various formats.  It is simply not necessary to spend a bunch of money on a fancy journal.  You can write in the data processing program on your computer, keep a blog, write in an actual journal or even a simple pad of paper.  I have a simple strategy I implement when journaling.  I begin by listing five things that I am grateful for which can be anything from a patch of daisies I saw on the side of the road to surviving a car accident to the health of my children.  If we stop to think about it there really are so very many things to be grateful for in our lives.  Too often we get so caught up focusing on the negative that we forget the many things we have to be grateful for in our daily walk.  After listing the five reasons I am grateful I continue to write a minimum of three pages in my journal.  There is no rule to the content of this writing.  It is simply required that I write.  It is fine if it is aimless.  The simple act of writing is good for our mind, body and soul.

I love exploring and sharing on Pinterest.  One thing I discovered on one of my creative exploits is an idea that I like a lot and will be implementing in our home for the coming year is a Thankful Jar.  The concept is a simple one with big implications.  You keep a special jar on the counter or another location where all family members have easy access.  As things happen throughout the year that are a reason to give thanks they get written down and dropped into the jar.  On New Year's Eve the family gathers and reads about all the reasons they have had to be thankful for over the past year.  Focusing on what we are grateful for on a regular basis more greatly impacts our lives than when we just do it sporadically.  

As a home educator I am always looking for different ways to instill positive habits with lifelong implications into the daily practices of my children.  There are many ways we can teach our children to live with a spirit of gratitude.  In our home we pray at meals and bedtime and anytime that a special need arises.  I always model prayer by beginning with reasons we are thankful.  For me this is the easiest way to consistently model gratitude to our children.  We also practice the apparently dying art of hand written notes of thanks.  I hold it in high importance to openly express thankfulness to others for gifts, both material and intangible.  There is nothing quite like receiving a hand written note of gratitude to warm our hearts and boost our esteem.  We also consistently go through our belongings for things that no longer fit us or items that have outgrown their usefulness to us.  We keep in mind our favorite charities, family members and friend when deciding who might benefit from things we can no longer use, and the kids participate in the actual act of preparing and giving the items.  Also, as a family we are always looking for ways we can serve others within our own home, our family, our church family, and our general community, even the world.  This year our family is participating in Operation Christmas Child and Friends of Foster Kids, as well as donating to Grace Centers of Hope through our business.  We involve the kids in all these acts of sharing as much as possible.  Our family has also sponsored children through Compassion International for over 10 years now.  We currently have a boy in Bolivia and a girl in India.  On occasion I have the kids color or draw a picture to send to them.  There are many ways to involve our children in world wide outreach as well as within our communities if we just take the time to look for the opportunities around us.  Currently, a group of children within our local homeschool group is collecting food for an awesome organization right here in our county call Hunter Hospitality House.  My children will be helping me go through our cupboards to put together a bag of food to donate from our family.  They love to be included in these activities, and you can just see their little eyes light up when they participate in the giving.  Our 4-H Club also participates in the adopt-a-family program through The Salvation Army each Christmas season.  All of these activities foster a spirit of giving in our children and unite us as a family in the act of giving.

As you can see, there are many ways for us to learn about, practice, and teach the art of living a life of gratitude.  The implications for ourselves as well as others are limitless.  The key is to start.  Choose an activity, and begin.  Based on my experience the best place to start is with ourselves.  When our spirits are well it will simply spill over to the others in our lives.  Caring for ourselves first gives us the strength and knowledge to share with those around us.  Just like the oxygen mask in an airplane, if we first fill ourselves with gratitude we can then share it with others.

"Give thanks in all circumstances; 
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

- I Thessalonians 5:18

First Step Taken

It appears that the fast was successful for both hubby and myself.  I am glad that we ended up doing it together.  The desired outcome was achieved.  We both did lose a little weight, but it truly was the first step toward eating healthfully and more consciously.  An entire week passed by with no eating out and no grain consumption.  It's a miracle!  Well, maybe not a miracle, but it is a humongous accomplishment for the both of us to be sure.

We both have developed some terrible habits over the last several years.  The worst, by far in my opinion, is regularly dining out.  Back in the day dining out was a special treat and something in which we rarely indulged.  Then, the kids got older.  Before you knew it we went from having seven children living at home to just three.  Eating out picked up a bit.  Then, we were down to two at home.  Then, we went from two teens to one young adult and a new baby.  Holy cow did we ever start eating out a lot!  It wasn't like we woke up one day and decided that we'd rather eat out than eat at home.  There was no conscious decision made by anyone.  It just kind of crept into our lifestyle.

Eventually, hubby eased into eating carry out in one form or another EVERY DAY at work.  Not to mention the occasional breakfast at the restaurant before work and the occasional dinner out with me after work.  On top of all of his eating out I started eating out with the remaining boys as well.  It was nothing for me to grab some Mexican food for lunch while running errands or to allow myself to be 'conned' into the occasional stop at Coney Island.  Basically my average became about two or three times per week eating out.  For someone that has to be super particular about what she consumes in order to be fit and healthy eating out is not a good thing.  At least it wasn't with my previous attitude about it.

See, even though eating out had become regular and normal and expected I was treating it like it was still a special treat.  With it being a 'special treat' I was still of the mindset to indulge in items that I would not normally eat or prepare at home.  Things that are not so friendly to my waist line.  I have to be careful with the carbs.  Bread and pasta, even whole grain, are terrible for me.  They pack on the pounds.  Not to mention my meal out was almost always meat based.  This fast allowed me to take a break from grain completely, and I did okay without it.  Even though our fast is over I do plan to continue with no grains for this week as well.  It seems to make a tremendous difference.

This past week of fasting has allowed me the time necessary to dig a little deeper into researching food and how it effects our health and weight.  Why does it have to be so complicated?  It's a wonder more people are not obese or deceased with the corruption in our food system.  I seriously feel like I need to be a detective in order to figure out what to eat and be healthy.  I mean, certain things are obvious.  Don't eat fast food.  Don't eat processed food.  Stay away from sugar.  Caffeine really isn't good for you.  Meat and dairy may not be a good idea either.  Vegetables are important.  Fruit is good for you.  I'd say that's about where the beginner knowledge level stops.

Then, you get into the more complicated stuff like Monsanto, GMO's, pesticides, food additives, the corruption of the food system, wheat (or is it?) and other grains, good and bad oils, and on, and on, and on. Somewhere along the way I discovered information about eating for your blood type as well.  That is pretty compelling and definitely got my attention.  When I read about it it was completely like it had been written just for me in describing my blood type, and wouldn't you know it that I have the most complicated one of all; AB.  Oh, yippee!

Oh, then I learned about the Paleo Diet.  It seems all the rage right now and really does make some sense.  It's about eating foods that do not require additional processing to be consumed.  So, things like grains and dry beans and dairy would be out.  It's mostly fresh vegetables, fruits, and meats.  Not too bad, really.

My bottom line, at the moment, is eat mostly vegetables, some fruit, no sugar, no grains, and little meat.  The vegetables and fruits are no big deal.  Sugar is a little challenging.  Grains will get added in slowly starting with rice next week.  I also plan to switch all my flour to rice flour for a while and experiment with baking some of my own things like tortilla shells, bread, and healthy baked goods from scratch.  Meat really isn't a big deal either.  We only eat venison that we procure and process ourselves and beef from our friend's farm. I plan to add lamb and turkey when I manage to find a good, local source.  The hubby also eats fish, but I am allergic.  Since I don't purchase what I call 'grocery store meat' we are a little more conservative on our consumption already.  My current goal is to not consume meat more than once per week.

I have spent hours on Pinterest researching foods that fit my new requirements, and I have even been taking mine and the hubby's blood type recommendations into consideration as well.  I absolutely LOVE Pepperplate and have been using that to collect all the recipes I plan or desire to actually cook at some point.  It's awesome, because I can use Pepperplate to create menus, create a meal planner, and print a grocery list.  It really is an awesome tool, and it's FREE!  I originally discovered it as a free download on my Kindle Fire. It sat there for a while without me realizing what an awesome tool I had at my fingertips.  I use it all the time now.  We are even using it to catalog and edit our recipes for the cookbook I am co-writing.  If you've been around here regularly you know that this is an on-going project of many years.  We are finally ready to start wrapping it up and hope to have it completed within a year.  So excited to finally see a light at the end of the tunnel on that one!

It has been hitting me lately just how much time actually goes into food in our lives.  Some of us grow it, so we have to plan our gardens, procure our seeds, plant and tend our gardens, and preserve the spoils.  Even if you don't do all that there's still learning to cook, planning the meals, shopping for the food, loading and unloading the food, preparing the food, and cleaning up afterward.  Plus, we have to stay educated on food prices, availability, and quality.  It's a cycle that can never end.  We all have to eat and feed our families.

No wonder I was dining out so much!

Garden Preparations

 

It's been a lot of work over a lot of weeks with a lot of help from the hubby, the twenty-year-old, and even the two-year-old, but the garden is actually beginning to look like a garden.  I decided on the newspaper method, and it was rather easy.  However, it was easiest after we got our system down.  I recommend having someone help you if you are doing a large area like we were.  One person lays the newspaper in a single layer, slightly overlapping, while the other person has the hose on a mist setting and wets the newspaper.  This prevents it from blowing away.  We worked in sections topping the wet newspaper with just enough wood chips to hold the newspaper in place until the entire garden was covered.  Once we ran out of newspaper we finished covering the surface with an ample amount of wood chips.  

Some information that I've read on using the newspaper method to prepare your garden bed included adding a layer of dirt between the newspaper and the wood chips.  I chose to omit this step.  Our dirt is nice and black, and the newspaper should be plenty easy to dig through with the trowel in order to plant my seeds or started plants, so I figured it would have just been wasted effort.  I'm a big fan of using wood chips in the garden for a couple of reasons, so I just went that route.  

In my experience wood chips help to deter weed growth, help the ground maintain moisture, and they decompose adding to the richness of the soil.  Sure, they need to be replaced each year, but since they're free, and they earn their keep, why not use them?  Not to mention, I love the finished look they give the garden.

This is as far as we made it before running out of newspaper.
We need to move the pile of rocks and finish covering the south end of the garden,
but that won't take long at all.

My mom is coming over this weekend, and we are painting the smaller rocks as markers for the plants that will get planted in the garden.  We have plenty of them on the property.  I'm all for working with what the land gives you.  The larger rocks will continue their way around the end of the garden to create the border.  Natural, free, and beautiful.  Love it!

I love Pinterest!  That's where I got the idea for the newspaper method, painting the rocks as markers, and organizing seeds in photo albums.  I had some photo sleeves that I got for free a couple of years ago.  I wasn't sure what I'd use them for.  They're intended for adding photos to a scrapbook page.  I used them to organize my seeds, and I love the outcome.

Each sleeve set has six pockets.

I put one packet of seeds per pocket so that the back of the packet
could be read without removing it from the sleeve.

Then I stood them up in a handy basket that I already had.
I like this particular basket because they fit nicely,
it's durable and easily cleaned, and it has a handle.

Now that I'm all organized, finishing up the garden this weekend should be a breeze.  With a little water, sunshine, and prayer we should be well on our way to creating a beautiful oasis in our yard that will provide us with glorious flowers to behold and enough delicious produce to put up and share with family and friends. I am very excited to watch this area of our property come to life.

Please Vote

THIS IS NEW THIS WEEK!  PLEASE VOTE!

Avery's picture was picked to participate in a photo contest by Parents.com AGAIN this week.  This is the first time one of his photos have been selected more than once.  I came into it a little late last week, as the email sat in my inbox unnoticed for over three days.  This week, I caught it right away.  LET'S SEE IF WE CAN WIN THIS WEEK!  Please feel free to share in any social media in which you participate; Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, etc.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Pepper Plate

In the interest of all things awesome I absolutely have to share with you my latest find.  Initially, it was a free download on my Kindle Fire. I downloaded it, and it sat there a while.  Little did I know the organizational gem I was holding at my fingertips and failing to benefit from.

As some of you may know, I have been on a cookbook writing adventure with my best gal pal of 31 years for, oh let's just round it off, say the last 10 years.  She is a home schooling mother of six, and I am a mother of seven adult children and a now two-year-old.  Need I say more about why we have been working on this project for 10ish years?

Anyway, I absolutely love all things cooking, baking, recipe related, and the like.   This website that is totally new to me is like a creative gift.  It has everything a cookbook writing, busy mom of a toddler, Pinterest pinning, Facebook loving, Kindle Fire newbie, foodie could ever possibly want in a food planning recipe saving, menu creating, and grocery list generating website.  It's incredible and VERY user friendly.  I love it!

No, they didn't pay me to write this post.  I just had to share.  It's not too often that I get excited about any particular website, but this site is now my favorite website.  Yes, I even love it more than Facebook and Pinterest.  It's easy to use, practical, and downright fun.  I may actually get the work done I am supposed to with this little gem under my belt.

What is the site, already, you ask?  It is called Pepper Plate, and you simply must check it out!  You can manually enter recipes that you have in your own personal stash.  It's as simple as copying and pasting from Word, which is what I do, or typing it out.  You can also use the Add to Pepperplate button and add directly from any website.  It's awesome!  You just copy and paste right onto a popup screen.  It even lets you drag a picture of the recipe onto it as well.  This feature, the whole recording right from the website, is what seriously got me excited.  Do you see the potential in expanding your cooking adventures?  I love, love, love this website.  Period!