Of Guts and Diapers

I have been busy lately. Too busy. Between getting new sheep, reading numerous books, battling diaper rash, and trying to keep up on everything...this mama is spread thin. And to add onto it all, I've been feeling terrible. Downright cr@ppy. Pardon my French, but it is the best description.

I have had to temporarily cut out milk. I might have to cut out dairy altogether. If you knew how much I love and miss my daily glass of milk, you would know how I suffer. I love milk. I love the taste, how it stops the hunger pangs, how the rich creaminess of my beloved raw milk satisfies my sweet tooth. Alas, it is gone. For now. My gut cannot handle it. The few times I have broken down and had a small glass I end up paying the price for the rest of the day. I get cramps. Bloated hardly describes my midsection. Let's face it...I look like I'm 5 months pregnant when I drink my favorite beverage. So, so, sad.

Wait! There's hope on the horizon. I think I've found the cure and no it's not lactaid or pills. It's an amazing way to heal my gut, restore my digestive tract to normalcy, and make me able to eat and drink the things that I love.

Enter, the GAPS diet.

                               

This is quite the commitment, but when faced with a life without dairy...it's worth it. My digestive issues aren't the only reason that I'm doing this. In fact the whole fam is going to be doing this as well.

My son, who has similar issues like mine, has SEVERE allergies to oak trees. Last April, when the oak trees started to release all their pollen, my poor boy suffered terribly. And when I say suffered, I mean it. His poor eyes almost swelled shut, the skin of his eyelids were flush with his forehead and cheekbones, and were the color of a plum. You would have thought that he was in a boxing match...and lost.

In my research to figure out a way to help my son I soon realized that allergies start with a 'leaky gut' or in other terms an unhealthy digestive system. Hippocrates said, "All disease begins in the gut." And he's right. Allergies, be it food or environmental, have to do with gut health. Isn't this just thrilling, keep you on the edge of your seat, holding your breath, earth shattering news? I think so.

It has changed the out look of my son's life during allergy season. I hope to heal his gut so he doesn't have to take allergy medicine every year. It has given me hope to be able to consume what I love again, and not have to settle for second rate dairy substitutes.

If you are health conscious at all, if you are a wife, if you have children, or just plain want to eat real food, you should read this. It's is amazing and it is so wonderful to be able to learn how God created our bodies to digest food. Real food that is. This book paired with traditional eating is, in my humble opinion, the best way to eat and thrive. (Nourishing Traditions is a cookbook filled with recipe's for this eating lifestyle. And I haven't read this book yet, but I will soon, and I'm sure it will shape my mind toward traditional eating even more.)

Hence, why I am doing my best to convert my pantry, thinking, and cooking methods to be a traditional foodie.

And if this isn't enough of a lifestyle change, I thought I might add on another whopper.

Cloth Diapering.

Oh, yes...I dare. I even put in my order of cloth diapers, wipes, and etc yesterday.

And. I. Can't. Wait.

Seriously. They are adorable, save money, are better for baby, and I'm sure I can come up with more reasons as soon as I am becoming acquainted with my new cotton beauties.

The company I ordered from is Green Mountain Diapers and I am thrilled with their products thus far, and their customer service is impeccable. They answered all my questions and then some. If you are considering cloth diapering, I would recommend this company. Plus, my money supported another family owned business who happen to be believers. A win win in my opinion.

Here's what I got.

Prefolds.

                                             

Flip Diaper Covers.

                               

Snappi's.

                                       

And a myriad of other cloth diapering goodies that I won't list. These are the nuts and bolts of the set up.

You may think I'm crazy. I might be. I am excited about this and will do a follow up post when I get my goodies and put them to some good hard use.

So for now, I'm in the trenches of learning about the gut, healing the gut, and disposing of what comes forth from the gut. Gross. Too much info, ya?

Hope your week was splendid!

Pssst! Our green house was finished yesterday. Wait till you see it. It's prettier than the rest of our house. Seriously.  

***All pictures are from the Green Mountain Diapers website. Visit their site and have a peek at all the cuteness of babe's in cloth diapers. You may even find yourself ordering a few...

***I learned about GMD from a blog that I love to read. Visit it sometime. You will be glad you did.
      The Elliot Homestead

We Went For A Drive...

Last weekend, something very exciting happened. Something that I've been waiting and praying for... 

I GOT MY RAM!!!

He's not the big woolly beauty you saw here, but he'll do. And I am sure next year, when he's got some experience under his belt, or wool so to speak, I'm sure he'll be much more handsome.

Anyway, Seth and I (and the babe) drove to Sebastopol and met with a Scottish Blackface breeder. We didn't get to see his whole flock (so sad), but the sheep we did get are beauties. Along with the ram, we bought three ewes. We had only planned on buying two, but he gave us a deal we couldn't refuse for the old lady.

I'm sure you are wondering why the most noticeable picture above is one of food. Well, I did this on purpose. I love food. I love good food. I love trying new food...only if it's good. These two plates of goodness are Puerto Rican cuisine and let's just say, it was fantastic. I cleared my plate in no time. I still am drooling over how good it was and am planning on trying to make it myself.  Soon. 

Seth and I had a good chuckle when we looked out at the truck. How many times have you seen a truck full of sheep parked along the street in the city. Yes we are country folk and proud of it.  

Aren't these sheep just beautiful?

The drive home was amazing. On our way, it was rainy and miserable. I was not looking forward to getting out of the truck and wrangling sheep. The Lord is so good however, and the sun came out and the sky cleared up when we were about five miles away from Sebastopol. (I escaped having to wrangle sheep due to a baby needing to eat. Perfect timing.)

We kept seeing people pull up alongside us, point, and then smile. It's not everyday that people in the city get to see livestock. I think they like it. I know I do.

The ram is the one in the top right corner. He is in a awkward stage, but definitely likes the ladies.

I don't have much time to write. But definitely am wanting to show off our newbies. I will try to write a more detailed version of our day, but I hope these will suffice for now. I'll be taking more pictures soon and updating everyone on lamb making progress.

...cause I know your so interested.

Edible Rubies

'Tis the season for many things. 'Tis the season for pomegranates. I do love these delectable fruits, but I will admit, they can be a major pain to enjoy. However, I have come to find an easier way in which to get the little juicy rubies from their tight little cramped lair. And yes, your welcome.

Step 1: Cut off the top of the pomegranate and score the edges. Then place in a bowl of cold water.

Step 2: Check the pomegranate in about 5-10 minutes, once you see the edges start to swell, your ready.

Step 3: With the pomegranate under the water, break it apart and start to rub the seeds off of the peel. The seeds should fall to the bottom and the white thin membrane should float to the top. 

Can you see? It separates itself. Wonderful!

Step 4: Strain all the seeds and put in a large bowl.

Aren't they pretty?

Step 5: Once you've separated all the seeds...the next step is to enjoy the fruits or seeds of your labor. 

Are you going to try this? I hope so.

Hummingbird Love

I have had the pleasure of watching a hummingbird flutter and fly about outside of my bedroom window every morning. I consider it a treat from the Lord while I'm nursing Leah at the beginning of our day. Hummingbirds are my favorite bird. They are so little, sweet, fast, and cute. I am not a huge fan of birds, but I do like these little beauties. 

This morning was extra special. Jude and Ella crawled into bed with me while Leah was still asleep and we three snuggled together in yummy family snuggle time and slept for about another 30 minutes. Wonderful. When Leah woke up, I opened the blinds and voila, there was my little buddy. I had the pleasure of pointing him out to my munchkins and they fell in love, just like their mama.

I hope you can see him in the picture. He blends in so well. The kids were able to watch him look around and preen his feathers while he sat on the branch awaiting the sun to come out and warm him. I love sweet moments like this, where I can point out parts of the Lords creation to my kids and watch them enjoy it as much as I do. I love my God. I love my children. And I love that I can enjoy His creation with my little ones.

My Better Half

I love my husband.

He is amazing.

And handsome.

Here he is working on our green house.   Yay!

I am blessed to be his wife. I have learned this past week how much I appreciate my hubby. You see, he's been gone since Wednesday and I have had quite some time to think about how important he is...to me and to our kids.

Being alone induces all kinds of thoughts. (I realize I'm not completely alone cause I have my kids, but it can still be lonely being a temporary single mama) Sadness. Fear. Anxiety. Yes, I've had these emotions, but there is one that always prevails...thankfulness. I am thankful for so many things when it comes to my hubby. 

1. He loves me and he tells me so all the time.

2. He leads the kids and I in the Lord and always tries to please Him.

3. He helps me whenever I ask, am stressed, or even when I don't ask.  :)

Here's a few more reasons why I am thankful for my man.

Yes, I am thankful he knows how to shoot, but that's not my point here. Read on...

He is always quick to include the kids in whatever he's doing. Whether it's cleaning the garage, organizing his trailers, working outside, and yes even shooting targets. The kids love having their daddy home and they especially love doing fun stuff with him. Seth let Jude and Ella shoot at some targets and they thought it was the best thing ever! Jude was telling me story after story about how good of a shot he is and Ella pretty much acted her stories out. She is such a doll!

While Seth's been away he has called every day to talk to the kids. Sunday night he couldn't take it anymore and decided to come home for the night. Literally.  He got here at 7 pm and left at 4 am Monday morning. Short trip, but sooo worth it. Since he is the best daddy in the world, he came home bearing gifts for the kids and myself.

Daddy came home with these awesome shirts. If you can't tell, Jude says 'future farmer' and Ella's says 'mommy's little farmer'. I'm in love. With my husband, but I do love the shirts too. And if the shirts weren't enough he got them some Bobcat toys. Surprise, surprise. They each have their own skid steer and excavator and have a semi truck with a flatbed to share. Now, they are in love.

Leah was not forgotten. She got an adorable pink John Deere onesie and I got two shirts and pajamas. This may not seem exciting to some...but I love when Seth buys me clothes. Probably cause I don't like to.

I could go on and on about my hubby, but I'll save you from all the mush and gush.

Seth- aside from salvation and what Christ accomplished on the cross in order to save my soul...you are the best blessing that has been given to me. I love you. I appreciate you. And I can't wait till you are home...for good. 

Lord willing...I'll have my better half back in 2 days.

Autumn Days

This was a great day. The autumn weather was proving to be delightful. Cool, crisp, wonderful. It puts a spring into our steps and feels good on the lungs too.

My munchkins love to play outside. And they love to feed the animals. It was the perfect day to do both. The grass is growing slowly these days and therefore the animals think their starving. Their not. However, to not get harassed by the animals during our play time we decided to give them a treat. And that meant a trip to the barn.

As you can see, we had fun. Leah was content to watch Jude and Ella do their best to fling handfuls of hay into the pen. Most of the hay landed on their feet, but it was so cute to watch them grunt while throwing the hay with all their might. The animals were unimpressed and so required myself to join in the feeding frenzy and throw the flakes.

The barn is old and in desperate need of repair. However, in the late afternoon when you are inside, the sun beams coming through the wood panels make for the coolest lighting. Unfortunately I have a terrible camera, but I did my best. I am thankful for this barn. It is hopefully going to house new lambs this Spring.

I am mostly thankful to (and for) my Savior Jesus Christ who has given me eyes to see what is truly wonderful and important in this life. Jesus of course is first, but my children are also incredible blessings. I love days like this where we can enjoy every part of the day and have such a great and simple time together. This life, this farm life, is a blessing from above and not to be taken for granted.

Here's a glimpse into our fun. Enjoy!

One Rainy Day

         

I love this time of year. When the seasons transition from hot summer days to cool Autumn evenings. It's lovely. This day (this post is two days late) I was having to do one of my winter prep jobs - lay new bedding in the barn. I have been doing the 'deep bedding method' for my animals and I'm pretty happy with it thus far. If you aren't familiar with this, it is when instead of completely cleaning out the old bedding once it's been soiled and replacing it with new, you just put the new bedding right on top of the old. I'll admit, my OCD side doesn't like it, but I am actually quite pleased. It saves a lot of work at that moment and you are actually creating wonderful compost. And you need to put at least 8 inches of new bedding down so there is a good barrier between the old and the new. Needless to say, in the Spring when we do the once a year deep clean, my garden will be lovin' the animals compost bed.

I had quite the time trying to spread out the straw. Gus and Penny are WAY too comfortable with me. I had to ward of Gus with a stick and he pretty much ignored me the whole time and Penny tried to kick me. Not nice. Anyway, I got the job done and I know my farm bums are happy cause they pretty much never leave the barn. Which translates to I'm going to need to replace the straw again soon. Too bad you can't train cows and sheep like you can dogs and cats. I shouldn't complain cause no poop, no compost. Simple as that.

I did break down and treat the farm bums to some hay, which one can see they are rather happy about.

I am hoping to be getting a ram soon. I have one in the works, but the gentleman I'm buying him from has been out of town.  I can't wait...I really want lambs.

My wonderful hubby is in the middle of finishing the green house. I can't wait to write about it and show off his handiwork. Hopefully it'll be done in a week or so. And then after that, the chicken coop. Oh, I'm so excited I could squeal. Really I could.

'Till then, I'll be dreaming of fresh eggs and lambs playing in the green grass. It's a lovely dream, and Lord willing it will all come to fruition.