Why getting up early makes me a better mom. (A conversation from my heart).

So this morning I got up with my husband.  It was dark.  And cold.  Oh yeah, and it wasn't even five.  Anyone who knows me will realize just how big of a deal this is.  I detest dark.  I detest cold.  And I detest early.  Seriously.

But, here's the deal, this morning I was able to read the bible (it's been an embarrassingly long time, if we're being honest), drink a few glasses of water quietly, workout, browse pinterest, eat breakfast, do some cookbook organizing on Evernote, and reply to my husband's "I got here safely" text as soon as he sent it.  I did all this before any children needed me.  No one was asking for cheese or juice.  No diapers needed changed.  No littles needed nursed.  No accidents to clean off my already stained carpet.  No screaming.  No "Moooooooom!"s.  This morning I was just me.

As a general rule, I am not my own.  My hands are my toddler's, my breasts are my infant's, and whatever is leftover after all the messy events of the day I give to my husband.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing.  In fact, it's a life I chose quite willingly.  After all, it's truly all I've really wanted out of this world.  If you don't understand what I'm saying, you must not have children.  I'm sorry.  You are missing out on the most beautiful chaos.

But chaos it is.  Those quiet moments in the morning are so rejuvenating.  A chance to reconnect with who Christ has made me to be.  A wife, yes.  A mother, yes.  But, in the midst of it all, still me.




Do you rise early to be "just you"?  Tell me about it!

If you don't, I highly suggest you do.  It just might make you a better mother (or wife, sister, daughter, etc).

The Plan (Subject to Change)

Sometimes you need a plan.  As I look across our homestead at the grass starting to turn green and the bare garden, the intimidation is almost overwhelming.  So boy, do I need a plan.

In a nut shell, my plan for the summer looks something like this:

Create some "lasagna" garden beds.  (Check!  One giant one done and "cooking")

Resist the urge to buy more chickens!

Teach a toddler boundaries (yeah, I know).

Freeze strawberries so we can enjoy smoothies all winter.

Revive my own strawberry patches and apologize to them profusely for the neglect.

Plant an orchard. (No big deal, right?)

Pick raspberries.  Lots and lots of raspberries.

Preserve as many raspberries as I can without going positively insane.

Grow some tomatoes and pray over them every day that the blight misses them.

Can tomatoes until I can't see straight.

Can peaches.  At least 40 quarts.  Our family really likes peaches, ok?  Ok.

Oh yeah, and have a baby.


Never mind, it's more overwhelming when i see it written down.

Life is ever changing.  These are my goals.  Doesn't mean they're going to all happen.  But now there's a plan.  And now you know.  So when you ask me how my strawberries are doing please quickly change the subject when I turn red (like a strawberry, ha).  Or at least console me by telling me how difficult you have found them to be.

At any rate, be nice to me this summer.  There's a lot on my plate.  Some optional, some not.

I leave you with a clip of the Little Mechanic riding his balance bike.  I hate to brag, but this kid is awesome :D.

So how about you?  What do you have on your to do list this summer?

Dark and Delicious Chocolate Fudge Syrup

Chocolate.

You're hooked now, aren't you?

I am a fan of chocolate, but let me be frank.

"Hi, Frank"

No, not that frank.  Let me be...honest.  Yes, let me be honest,  I am a chocolate snob.  Not even in a sense of the chocolate needing to be fair trade or organic. (Although, those are definitely bonuses).  I love me some good dark chocolate.  No, not a certain brand of "special" dark chocolate.  Ick.  I mean real dark chocolate.  Chocolate flavored wax is not acceptable. *cough*

I present to you my very favorite dark and delicious chocolate syrup.  It's the best.  Put it in a jar with some raw milk, give it a shake and you are good to go.  So, without further delay...

Our cast of characters will include:

1 1/2 cups Sucanat (I ran mine through a coffee grinder to make it powdery)

1 cup cocoa (If you don't like it too dark feel free to ease up on this)

1 cup water

a pinch of Real Salt

1-2 Tablespoons Butter (the higher quality, the better)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (mine was homemade.  I should probably teach you how to do that :) )

Sucanat is my sweetener of choice.  I'm sure you could substitute another sweetener with not much trouble.

First take your 1 1/2 cups Sucanat,

and your 1 cup of cocoa

Stir them together in a medium-large sauce pan.  Use a bigger one than you think you need.  You DO NOT want this stuff to boil over.  Add a pinch of salt.

Whisk in the water.

Do you like my purple whisk?  It's new :D

Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to low.

Stir it often!  You will want to boil this around 12 minutes.  The less you boil it, the thinner the syrup.  The more you boil it, the thicker the syrup.  I love customizable recipes :D.

Turn off the heat and add a generous blob of butter. (That's 1-2 T for those of you who second guess your blobs.)

Watch the butter get all melty and sigh a little.

Next, stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

To finish it off, pour it in the cutest jar you can find.  This pint jar fit mine perfectly.

This would be fantastic over ice cream, in milk, or especially in my favorite iced coffee.

Let me know how your version of this recipes turns out!  

What is your favorite sweetener?

Magical Coldbrew

The weather seems to be finally changing around here.  There is a collective sigh of relief in our region as we watched our thermometers creep into the 70s this weekend.

Now, many people may be stocking up on ice cream or making popsicles with the warmer temperatures, but I have a different craving.  Coffee.  Yes, it's true, I'm not a cozy, baby-it's-cold-outside, need-a-pair-of-slippers, coffee drinker.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good, hot cup of coffee on a cold day.  However, my true devotion is for sweet, creamy, icy cold, black goodness.

It's important at this point that we discuss how there is a right way and a wrong way to make iced coffee.  The wrong way is to take some brewed coffee, let it cool, and then dump it over ice.  Don't do that. Please.

If the previously mentioned method is, in fact, how you make your iced coffee, fear not!  I have exactly what the doctor (or, ya know, crazy and slightly crunchy pregnant lady) ordered.

Let's start with my favorite kitchen tool.  A mason jar.  This one is a half gallon wide mouth.  I love jars.  No really, I LOVE jars.  You will probably come to find that out on your own pretty quickly.  But now there's no question.  So don't leave me comments asking if I love jars.  Or send me emails.  I'm bad with email anyway.  Just ask my husband.  Anyhoo...

Half gallon, wide mouth jar.  Got it?

Do you know how hard it is to photograph clear things?

Grab some coffee.  Grind it.  

It occurs to me that I should have snapped a picture of the coffee I used.  But I didn't.  Use your imagination.  On a side note, did you know that Sams Club carries fair trade coffee now?

For the half gallon jar I used around 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups ground coffee.

Mason jars have measurements on the side.  Handy, right?

At this point, I filled the jar half way up with water and shook it really well to saturate the coffee grounds.

It's going to look like mud at this point.  Sorry.

Go ahead and fill your jar up the rest of the way with water and shake it again.  Oh, and for goodness sake, put on the lid before you shake it.  Common sense, people, common sense.

Now put it beside all your other lovely jars with crazy concoctions and admire them for a minute.  Leave it for 24 hours.  It's ok, this will all be worth it tomorrow.

Give yourself a pat on the back for everything you got done this morning in your jammies.  And apparently without brushing your hair...

The lighting in my kitchen is horrible for photos.  Yeah, it's the lighting.

The next morning, strain your heavenly liquid into another jar using a colander and a coffee filter.  Don't forget to compost your used grounds!

Now comes the magical part.  Get yourself the highest quality cream you can find, some raw milk, a sweetener, and some ice.

I was going to tell you the quantities I used but I didn't measure wanted you to be creative. ;)

My favorite sweetener for cold things is pure maple syrup.  It will still dissolve even if it's not heated.

Also, this is what happens when it's a beautiful day and the chickens haven't had their coffee.  Do not leave the coffee unattended.

Do not give the chickens coffee.  They'll never be able to sleep.

Well, there you have it.  Now you know how to make a proper glass of cold brew coffee.  Ignorance is NOT bliss, people.  Educate yourself. :)

How do you take your coffee?  Cream, sugar, or straight up black?

Youtube Education #1

You should probably watch this video...









Do you know how long your ancestors lived before the 1900s?

Today is a relaxed Monday.  Believe it or not, Mondays usually are pretty relaxed.  The dishes are done, there's a load of laundry in the washer, and I even organized under the kitchen sink.  

This morning I taught the Little Mechanic to load the silver in the dishwasher.  He was quite pleased with himself, though I had to stop him from taking it all back out when he was finished.

Don't you dare ask me when he is getting a hair cut.

I have been making an effort to include him in everyday chores and activities.  He has such an inquisitive mind and I enjoy him thoroughly.  It's still difficult though to not want to just do it myself.  Today he helped me wash dishes by hand and there was water EVERYWHERE.  That was exciting.  Fear not, young mamas for water dries and messes clean up.  The more messes your child makes (and helps you clean up) before he is grown, the happier his childhood.

Peace and love on this beautiful, snowy Monday <3

Of Destructive Construction and Far too Many Projects

Dunking cookies like a champ.

I am, in fact, well aware that the entire month of November was postless.  I am going to lie and say that it was intentional.  Whether it is a lack of inspiration or the fact that The Little Mechanic has taken up throwing a fit even if I only look at the computer, I will never be quite sure.

So many things have been happening here at the homestead.  Not so much the homestead itself.  Rather, the inside of our humble abode.  For example, we took down a wall.

And by "we" I of course mean The Handsome Cowboy.  I did not help.  I did not take pictures.  Instead, I was busy rocking a sick baby.  Poor thing :(.  He spent an entire week in misery.  He hasn't really been sick since he was 10 months old or so.  No complaints here.

The other big thing that has been accomplished is finishing the bathroom.  It only took a year. Ha.  We went with this theme.  Don't faint.  We actually found it all at Ollies of all places for a fraction of the price.
I don't have a picture it all done with the trim but here is a picture at least of the ceiling.

Why yes, that is galvanized roofing.

With that said, I am going to go cuddle with my little morning person and watch Dinosaur Train until mommy is awake enough to function.  Ice cream for breakfast, anyone?