Going Organic

Going Organic! Our family has been on a long road towards much healthier eating and living.

Once upon a time when we had all 7 kids at home we lived on Aldis. Very cheep and easy but oh so bad for us. During our "Aldis Years" as we now call them the whole family was at its fattest. Well some of our members dont gain a pound no matter what- but the rest of us got real fat!

Around 2001 I joined OA and made a start at wieght loss and healthier eating. Then in the last 4 yrs we have learned to garden and can. Last yr we stopped purchasing anything with high fructose corn syrup or hydroginated oils. Then about 2 months ago I read Natural Cures-they dont want you to know about.

This book pissed me right off! I was so angry to learn that even with all of our efforts endless poison was being put into the food I buy for my kids and keeping us fat too! Ahhhhhhhhhh! I did aditional reading here and there and then Jody and I made a decision to go totally organic. We didnt clean out the kitchen. We just used what he had on hand and replaced items as they ran out with organic items. This includes all of our food as well as our shampoos, deoderants and even pads and tampons.

So what am I ranting about?

I'll tell ya!

The results- thats what.

After just two months of eating organic, adding some walking, a little yoga and/or biking, water and salads to (not instead of) our dinners we are all looking and feeling great! Jody has easily lost 5" around the tummy and an entire pant size too. Vayda has smoothed out around the hips and her stomach is board flat. Elanee has lost 2 entire sizes. And- old mom has lost 8" around the belly and dropped a pant size, one bra size in inches and cup and a shirt size.

I cannot say enough about running screaming away from the crap in prepackaged foods. I cannot say enough about that book. I know- I know- there has been lots of conraversy about the author and the book. I dont care what people have to say. Anyone can look bad on TV. All I know is I put the stuff he suggested to use and it actually works!

Carrots

Canning Carrots Maya said she wanted cooked carrots so Vayda planted a bunch for her.
While we were making apple sauce Vayda and Maya went out and harvested the carrots. They brought in a whole bushel.

The fould a funny little carrot hugging a big carrot.

In the end we canned 7 Quarts of cooked carrots for Miss Maya.

Cloth Pads

OH.....The Unspeakable!

-Cloth Rags-

Been wanting to post this for a long while but so often I send folks whome I have just met here to see 'what I am about' and I didnt want them to know about the 'unspeakable'.
K- well I am over that. So here is the deal. Over a year ago I learned about cloth rags on a Yahoo posting group. Some ladies were making them and provided links to a pattern.

I did a bunch of research on the topic. I thought it was totally wierd! I thought they would be uncomforable and what about leaks and stains?

Well- I decided to go for it. I made myself a set- plently for a week. I bought all the flannel from the remnent section at Walmart and JoAnns. If I recall I spent around $15 for everything including the crib liner for the waterproof backing. Guess thats about what it costs for 2 months worth of disposable pads. I used the pattern from the web site. Just did a simple zig zag stitch around the edges and added staps. I revised the pattern to make extra long night time pads too. With each of the covers comes two inserts- one of 5 layers of flannel and one of 4 flannel and one crib liner (super thin fabric sandwiching a thin plastic). You can put in both inserts for heavy days or just the lined one for light days. The snap under the undwear in the style of a pad with wings. The flannel kind of grabs the cotton underwear so they stay in place fine.

To avoid staining you just chuck them in a bucket of cold water to soak before washing. I pin them out to dry. If there is any staining on my white covers I just leave them on the line for a few days and the sun bleaches them for me. As for leaking. No probs there. The water backing on the bottom insert keeps everything neat and tidy.

I have used them for more than a year and I love them! Obviously they are not too wierd. Our grandmothers were using cloth. There weren't even disposables till what- the 60s? Its just that no one wants to talk about these things. I am here to say that I am tellin and talking.

I figure I have saved around 500 pads from going to the land fill this yr alone. I have personally contributed as many as 11,000 non-biodegradable rags to the land fill since I was 13. Thats just ME! The cloth rags should last about 5 + yrs without replacement.

My enthusiasm for my cloth pads led Vayda to want a set, then Elanee. So now our house has gone totally cloth! That'll save our household around $270 a yr. Hows that for amazing!?! My dear friend (who shall remain nameless for her own comfort) and I bartered a set of cloth pads for a set of silk screened T shirts so she is officially cloth too. I have also met one teen and two adults friends who use cloth. Beyond being helpful to the environment and to the wallet they are helpful to our health. Vayda is proof of that. She has a bleach allergy and these pads have made her life more comfortable.

Please take the time to look up cloth menstral pads on the internet. There are places to buy them made and places to help with the making of them if you are up to it.

Apple Sauce!

Our mechanic's wife, led me to an Amish shop where we can get bushels of apples for $8.50 each.
She also informed me of an easy way to make sauce.....no pealing involved. I love her now :) LOL. So we bought 2 bushels to start and then another 3.
We put up 70 quarts of apple sauce for around .56 each and have hopes of 30 more....we'll see.

Bahai Class

Baha'i Class with Maya.

This year Maya and I are doing a Baha'i class. Here on the first day she listened to story of Baha'u'llah's father's. His father drempt Baha'u'llah's was floating in the sea and millions of fishes were clinging to his hairs. We made a bottle with blue sparkly water, and plastic fishes inside to remind Maya of the dream. She also made a 'Baha'i Box' wich she stamped in 9 pt starts and labled. The box contains her text along with prayer beads and projects shes made.
We added symbols of the Faith including the ringstone symbol, Greatest Name and AdbulBaha's(the son of the prophet-Baha'u'llah) picture.

Science class with Maya

Science class with Maya Rae.

Maya's first day of science she put smooshed bananas and pears in water bottles. We added balloons to the top and waited with breathless anticipation for the big happenins. The idea is that the gases from the rotting fruit will blow up the balloons.....in time.
This day Saige and Maya worked on a project together. Here they blended up a spinach leaf, put it in nail polish remover, added a coffee filter and watched as the colors in the leaf crept up the filter.

Finally- Back to school time

The first day of school. Ben grade 11 and Vayda grade 8.
Waiting for the bus with Morris.
All aboard!
Elanee grade 10 and Maya grade 2 ready for

home school.

Chin Faces

It's a scientificly proven fact the that canning 100's and 100's of quarts of food will drive children of normal development and intellegence literally insane.
Its true! And- it happened at our house. :) This afternoon the girls were loosing their minds after hrs of work. They started hanging upside down on the couch. That led to the obvoius....dressing of the chin. Here are the finished products. 1-Elanee, 2-Maya Rae, 3-Ms. Vayda.

Ok- enough screwin around- NOW BACK TO WORK!!!!

Ruhi's Bday Gift

This is a little something I made for our little friend, Ruhi for his Bday.

Jody and Ben do the AIDS Ride for Life.

Jody and Ben joined the Green Star team in Ithaca and did the AIDS Ride for Life bike-a-thon. The ride was 85 miles in the freezing cold rain and wind. They both raised lots of $ with the help of family and friends and rode well. Jody has done this ride before but it was a real treat for him this year to ride with Ben. Aaron and Shelly met the guys, at the end of the ride, in Ithaca and took these pictures.

Vayda's Rockin Painting

This is the ROCKIN painting that Vayda did for her friend Jojo-

who adores it of course.

Ben turns 17!

As is the pattern, Ben was gone on visitation all summer long. He got back after his 17th Bday so we threw him a little, simple Birthday party at home after he got back. Jody bought an icecream cake for him and- as often happens- things got a little out of controlle. ;)

Peaches and Pears

We put up 42 Quarts of peaches and 30 Quarts of pears.

A Break in the action

I took a break from canning and spent a few evenings making Baha'i bracelets. Sold these and more like them on Ebay. Sent one to my friend Retta too.

Canning Tomatoes

With all those tomatoes in the wheelbarrow + all the billions from the months before we made 86 pints of soup, 50 Qts of spagetti sauce, 50 pints of pizza sauce, and 27 pints of salsa. Because I have waited almost 3 mo to post this, I have totally forgotton all the $ break downs. Even so, I do know we saved tons! And- dont forget those tomatoes are organic. Plus- it all tastes soooo good!