Bathtub Reading

Owen really enjoys bath time. Lately he will linger in there and "wim" (swim) for a LONG time. Tonight, Abram read to us from The Hobbit, and then Owen read to us from Tub-a-Tub.
Well. . . sort-of. . .

The past few nights when he asked us to read it, he would chime in:
Mama: Tub-a-Tub. Cat splashes in a bubbly tub-a-tub-tub.
Owen: bubbles! tub-tub-tub
Mama: Dog dries his ears -
Owen: Rub rub.
Mama: Yes, rub-a-rub rub. Turle
Owen: Ha, ha, ha.
Mama: Yes, Turtle plays splish splash, Ha, ha, ha.
Owen: Ha, ha, ha.
Mama: Bird sings -
Owen: La, la, la.
Mama: Bird sings in the shower, La, la, la. Rabbit waves goodnight -
Owen: Night, night! (waving)
Mama: Ta-dah!
Owen: Dah-dah!

Tonight he flipped open the page where bird sings in the shower and sang, "La, la, la!" He enjoyed going through the pages and saying the repetitive phrases. Memorizing books is an early step toward reading, and while Owen has plenty of time to learn to read, I'm so excited to see the process begin.
He has started to show how much he understands books. He has gone from repeating a word from the text here and there to telling us about the pictures, pointing out small details, and using different words for the ideas in the text. We have read "Wild" (Where the Wild Things Are) about a bijillion times in the last week. Yesterday, Owen looked at Max's dinner that was still hot and said "soup.hungry." It's just so fascinating to be able to see his wheels turning.

What's in the 'frige'?

So I know you all wonder what in tarnation we eat, right? Here's what we have in the 'frige' right now:
Top shelf (left to right):

• Cream (not really legal, raw)
• kefir (home made from a-legal raw milk -Owen and I had our first taste (in 2 months) today!)
• Cod Liver Oil (Green Pastures - High Vitamin)
• Local plums ("mums" to Owen) and organic California figs
• kimchi (home made in a jar behind the fruit)
  
• 3 dozen eggs (local, pastured, great ORANGE yolks, bought at the illegal milk farm on Saturday - We've already eaten the first dozen of 4.)
• left over spinach

Next shelf:

• scallops (1 lb. bought at the Central Market for dinner tonight - They were tasty with the bacon. See below.)
• pork sausage (under the scallops - local, no chem., only salt and black pepper added, full fat! - yum! - a steal at $4.50/lb)
  
• bacon (behind the scallops and sausage - local, no chem., cured with honey and salt and lightly smoked - delish! - bought at the Central Market for $4.50/lb., a great deal!)
• beets with the greens and an extra bunch of greens to boot - The farmer always asks if we will eat the greens. I heartily say, "Yes, we love them." He always puts in an extra bunch of greens for free; he cuts them off for people who don't want them.
• left overs - steamed broccoli, butternut squash soup, and sausage soup
• sauerkraut (home made - see the recipe)
  
• fresh mushrooms - cremini and shitake (on top of the jar of sauerkraut)
• beef stock (home made)
• kombucha (home brewed)

Bottom Shelf:

• milk (full fat, raw, not really legal, from Jersey cows eating 100% grass)
• beet kvass (home made, behind the milk)
• meat loaf (leftover - ground heart, ground beef, home-rendered lard, onions, peppers, eggs, no grains!)
• spinach (local, no chem.)
• lacto-fermented stuff (sauerkraut, salsa, beet kvass - all made right here at home)
• ketchup (GAPS-friendly with only tomato paste, honey, salt, garlic, and red pepper flakes, lacto-fermented)
• beer (Blue Moon)

Left Drawer:

• zucchini (fresh, local, no chem.)
• broccoli (fresh, organic from afar)
• kafir lime leaves (not so fresh nor local)

Right Drawer:

• carrots (organic from afar)
• celery (fresh, local, organic)

Door:

• raw butter (from a different farm)
  
• pasteurized butter (for cooking)
• organic raisins
• assorted sauces that don't get much action
• horseradish sauce bought at the Central Market, made fresh each market day
• pepper sauce with tabasco peppers that are 5 years old - We just add boiling white vinegar when it gets low, and the peppers still impart a nice, hot flavor!
• chicken fat - rendered from local pastured chickens
• fish sauce in progress - This is by far the MOST REVOLTING thing ever to be in my kitchen. It is hacked-up, raw sardines with lemon rind, pepper corns, bay leaves, salt, garlic, and water. It fermented on my counter for 3 days and is now fermenting in the cold for 3 weeks. After that, I will strain it and use it in food we will actually eat. Well, that's the plan at least. I'm not sure I'll have the ovaries to actually eat it. We'll have to see. I love commercial fish sauce, so I'm hoping this will be even better!
• Commercial fish sauce
• white wine for cooking
• more home-made ketchup and other lacto-fermented stuff
• a couple of beers that wouldn't fit on the shelf

So, there you have it. That's what we have in our Frigidaire.
We keep most of our meats frozen, and we have some onions, apples, avocados, lemons, garlic, and ginger out since they don't need to stay cold.
What's in your 'frige'?

Comments Tutorial

Hi readers, I thought you might like a quick tutorial on how to comment on the blog entries or oh so cute pictures.
At the bottom of each entry, in small type it says, "0 comments" or whatever the number of comments is. If you would like to post a comment, you do not have to sign in. You can do an anonymous comment and sign your name as part of the comment, or you can sign in if you would like.
If you chose the anonymous posting, you will have to enter a string of random letters/numbers to show that you are not a spam computer.
Then, everyone will know what you think of what's going on too.
Hope to hear from you soon!

Haircut

Owen had his first haircut tonight. It was a bit overdue - not long overdue - just a wee bit. As you can see, he sat up nice and tall in the special seat. He did get a bit squirmy by the end, but he handled it all very well. We dodged the special treat afterwards (a sucker); getting a big boy hair cut is a reward in itself.
He played in the indoor playground at the mall for a little while before he decided that the things outside the play area (the ones that require 2 quarters to run) were ever so much more interesting than those inside.
All that made him really thirsty. He nursed a lot after we got home and then topped it off with some water!

Cafe Press Store

No, Owen didn't get a haircut; this is just a picture from a while back. I made Owen and me a bunch of t-shirts advocating breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and the family bed. Here he was wearing the "I'm no weaner!" one. My favorite to wear is the "I make milk. What's your superpower?" one. I've gotten a lot of comments - mostly compliments! - on them, and thought I'd see if all those people who tell me they'd love one would actually buy them. So, I have opened some Cafe Press Stores also called Opining Opossum because everybody deserves the benefit of my opinions, right? There are serveral:
I make milk. What's your superpower? and I'm no weaner!
It's mean to wean.
born@home
If your diaper isn't cloth, it's trash.
I hope to add a few more of the ones I have already done the designs for in the next week or so.

A Day With Daddy

We spent all day Saturday with Daddy! We all went to Owen's second swimming lesson. Thank goodness, the pool is pretty close since Owen repeated, "'wim, 'wim, 'wim," all the way there; he really loves swimming.
Afterwards, we came home, showered off, and had breakfast. Owen loves eggs and sausage. We used the last of our eggs, and Abram's milk was getting low, so we headed out to the farm to get some more. Owen fell asleep just a few minutes after we got into the car. Swimming really wears him out.
The weather is lovely and cool, and it was perfect for yard sales. There were yard sales all along our way. I pointed out a fusball table at one, and Abram jumped on it. We turned around to take a closer look, and we are now the owners of a fusball table with a mini air hockey table underneath. It was quite the bargain at $20. Luckily it came with balls and pucks so we could give it a go as soon as we got home and Abram put it together. Owen was thrilled with both!
Later we drove out and picked up some free drapes from a FreeCylcler and visited the Ephrata Cloister (a eighteenth century Cult-Monastery - move over David Koresh!). Owen liked running over the grounds but wasn't really interested in not touching all the new-made-to-look -old items on the tour. He was tired enough to get in a rare second nap on the way home.

Beef and Artichoke Stew

We've been eating a lot of soups and stews lately. The introduction to the diet we are eating is based mainly on bone broth soups with vegetables and meats. They are tasty and satisfying and have saved us a lot of money even though a larger percentage of our diet is local and organic/no chem. than ever.
Friday night, we had one of our old favorites - Beef and Artichoke Stew. It is so rich and wonderful, I thought I'd share it.

Beef and Artichoke Stew
2 lbs. beef (lamb also works well)
fat for cooking
3 onions, chopped
8 artichoke hearts, prepared and quartered
1-2 quarts of home-made beef stock
1 lb. greens, chopped or torn
dill
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 eggs
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Cook beef in fat. (or as I did this time: Begin stock with beef shin slices or other meaty stock bones; remove meat and marrow once it is cooked and tender, and return bones to stock to continue cooking. Add extra fat if you use the boiled beef.) Then add onions and brown slightly. Add artichoke hearts (I have used canned in the past but as we are trying to avoid canned foods and artichokes do not grow here, I used frozen ones.) and enough stock to cover all ingredients. Simmer about an hour, adding stock to keep ingredients just covered if necessary. Add greens (We used a wonderful fresh, local spinach.) and dill and simmer until greens are tender. Just before serving, remove soup from heat, stir in garlic. Then beat eggs with lemon juice, and temper by adding 1 1/2 cups hot stew juices about 1/4 cup at a time while stirring. Add the tempered egg mixture back into the soup, and serve. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Master Ring Goes to Washington

Saturday, Owen and I had our first Baby-Parent swim class at the Y. It was lots of fun to dance and sing, splash, play on a foam float and jump off, slide in from the side, and crawl through a floating tunnel with all the other babies. Right after our class, the whole family hopped into the car and headed to Washington to visit our friends, Tracy and Ben.
Owen really loved the train ride into the city. He wanted to stand and walk as the train was moving, but no one wanted to chase him. It was much better than a car trip as we headed into an arts festival at the Kennedy Center. He enjoyed the touch and learn about musical instruments area, playing drums, (mostly enjoyed) watching some Chinese puppet theatre, a really great clown, and meeting the Kennedy Center Cat, Mosby. He was also pleased to announce each take-off and landing of a "plane" at nearby Reagan National Airport. Back at Ben and Tracy's apartment, Owen was a little less successful at befriending their real cat, Honeydew, although he did make more headway than I did.
Sunday we went on the "loud," "train, train, train" to the National Mall and saw a Jim Henson's Muppet exhibit including Kermit, Ernie, and Bert at the Smithsonian's International Gallery. Then we headed for the Air and Space Museum to see some real planes REALLY close. Owen enjoyed going through a plane and using the unmanned aircraft controls (which didn't seem to actually be working - no worries! - Owen didn't even notice).














Dear, tired little fellow that he was, he fell asleep nursing in the sling part of the way through outer space.














After lunch and a walk through the Native American museum, we headed down the Mall where we rested our aching feet in the fountain at the National Sculpture Gardens before looking at the "bones," animals, and other interesting things at the Natural History museum. Then, we had one last train trip back and dinner and had to say goodbye to Ben, Tracy, and Honeydew. It was a really fun weekend, and Owen slept great after all the travel and adventure!

Preserving the Harvest - Sweet Peppers

Today was rainy, so we did lots of indoor things and got more pics than usual, so you get two posts today!
The whole family went to the market this morning and got lots of veggies: beets with greens, mushrooms, zucchini, a chicken, a shot of wheatgrass (for mama), a coffee (for daddy), some oranges for a special recipe, broccoli, and a BUNCH of bell peppers. There were some really lovely local no chem. ones for a great price, so we got 10!
We didn't need any eggs or dairy because we have found a really great farm that provides raw milk from 100% grass (in the winter, hay) fed Jersey cows. They supply a full line of dairy products, and Owen and I look forward to the day we add back dairy products. The gallon of milk we got for Abram was nearly 1/2 cream! We also got pastured eggs at another farm, but next time we will try the ones from the dairy farm. As we approached the Amish farm that had been pointed out to us from a small store, there were signs that warned us not to trespass. We found a lady in the tank room cleaning up, and got to speak the the man in charge of the operation. After harassment from the PA officials, they set up a private buying group to keep their operation legal. Now, the same officials are back after them trying to keep them from providing good raw milk products to private citizens. We payed a small membership fee for the year and got a membership card! You have to show this membership card to them when you go to buy the milk and other illegal things. (PA does allow raw milk and cheese sales buy certified farmers, but other dairy products are not able to be sold to the public legally. These folks choose not to be part of the government certification and oversight bureaucracy.) They have such wonderful products!
But, I digress. What were we to do with so many bell peppers? That's of course too many for us to eat before they go bad, so Owen and I chopped nine of them up and froze them on a cookie sheet. Owen tasted a few (not really ready for raw veggies on GAPS, but can't take it back), and really loved them. I will put them into containers to store them to use later on in the fall and winter when there are no fresh sweet peppers. They will be great in soups and chili and such!

Reading

Owen is really enjoying reading lately. He'll come up to me with a book and announce: "Book. Lap." This is my cue to sit down so he can sit in my lap and we can read the book. Sometimes we read 10 or 12 in a sitting. Sometimes we read just a page or 2. He has his favorites:
Lynley Dodd's, Hairy McLary's Bone, Hairy McLary Scattercat, and Slinky Malinky Open the Door, Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider, a couple of Sesame Street Books (ack!), Animal Homes, a DK First Christmas Board Book (indeed quite an orginal name, no?), Dr. Seuss books - especially the ones that come in board editions because he loves to turn pages - and some nursery rhyme books.
Here he is with a stack that we read today. It is a ton of fun to sit down and listen to him as he anticipates what will be on the next pages of many of his favorites. Some of his favorites lately are animals and their homes - great new and old words:
donkey, camel, lion, cave, hive, mole, burrow (burr), owl, horse, sheep, horse, barn, chicken (chick), duck, goose, cow, goat . . .

New Toys!

Well, sort of. Owen has lots of toys - not nearly as many as most kids I know these days, but certainly more than he can figure out what to do with. In addition to "toys" our home and the rest of the world are full of all manner of cool stuff to pick up, look at, throw, tear apart, and generally mess with.
I find that Owen is much more interested in his toys if I rotate them periodically, so to this end, I store about 2/3 of the toys at a time and swap them out every month or so. When I notice he has lost interest in the toy basket, I know it's time for a change of toys. I have found a great trick to buy myself 10 minutes of free time: set out a box of fresh toys from the closet!
We hadn't switched toys since we moved, so this weekend, we pulled out the boxes, gathered up the old toys, and put them away, put them back away, because they seemed to get a bit more interest once they were pulled out of the basket, and finally put out some fresh toys. It was like Christmas with all new toys! Owen and mama are both pleased with the renewed interest in the toy basket.

GAPS and Lacto-Fermented Salsa

Owen and I are following the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) diet plan to help heal our digestive systems from eating grains, processed sugars, taking antibiotics, birth control pills, drinking and swimming in chlorinated water, and the host of other modern activities that wreak havoc on our guts and their flora.
Much of the diet is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It emphasizes eating lots of bone broths and good animal fats along with vegetables and eventually fruits. Grains and other starchy foods such as potatoes and many beans are not recommended since starches are difficult to digest; neither are disaccharides such as table sugar (sucrose) or milk sugar (lactose). The primary sugar in ripe fruits and vegetables is fructose, a simple sugar which needs basically no digesting to be used by the body. Honey which is made mostly of the simple sugars fructose and glucose is acceptable also. Right now we are eating broths made from pastured animals (mostly chicken and beef but also goose and lamb), meats with plenty of fat, cooked vegetables, a small amount of fruit, and lacto-fermented probiotic foods.
That's another thing the diet emphasizes, eating plenty of foods that are fermented. Fermentation preserves food, makes it more digestible, makes more and different nutrients available to the body, and provides your body with beneficial micro-organisms to colonize your digestive tract. These wonderful little critters help you digest your fo od and help fight pathogenic organisms that can colonize an unhealthy digestive system causing chronic illness as well as the ones that show up from time to time and cause acute illnesses.
I have noticed a definite calming for Owen over the last month of eating this way, and I feel less moody too. As babies grow and change so quickly, I hesitate to attribute too much to this diet, but it has also coincided with a language explosion, increased imaginative play, great building skills, more interest in reading, and more sustained and focused play.
We really like lacto-fermented foods, and I try to keep a variety available: I make kefir (fermented milk, similar to yoghurt- for Abram, but eventually we will add this back since all the lactose is used up in the culturing process), sauerkraut, fermented ketchup, beet kvass, fermented dill pickles, kimchi (spicy Korean sauerkraut), and fermented salsa.
I made a batch of lacto-fermented salsa recently and put it into the fridge last night. It smelled really delicious, so I hope we will be able to enjoy it very soon. I can't follow a recipe all the way through without the threat of terrible punishment, but I based the salsa on a recipe from Nourishing Traditions. Here's what I did:

Lacto-Fermented Salsa
6 medium - large heirloom tomatoes (I used black Cherokee, green zebra, and pineapple)
1 large yellow onion
6 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper (seeded)
1 bunch of cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
2 T. sea salt
1/3 cup water

Peel and deseed tomatoes (and save seeds for next year!). Chop all veggies. Mix. Pack into glass jars leaving a bit of head space. (This made 7 cups for me.) Close jars and leave at room temperature for 2 days, then refrigerate.

Wearin' him down

So, David asked for some pictures of me, and Abram got some of me and Owen as we were headed out for our bed time walk.
We are working on a new sleep ritual. After dinner, we do a bath. Owen likes to get in the bath tub. He used to like to stay a while, but lately, he is through almost as soon as he gets in. He usually nurses at bath time but sometimes later. Then Owen gets a night-time diaper and a t-shirt and we brush teeth - first Mommy's then Owen's. He doesn't like this very much, but we think it is important enough to do anyway. Tooth brushing is followed by the treat of a 100% xylitol-sweetened mint. We often read a book or two, and then Owen gets put into a carrier, and we go for a walk. (Here, I am wearing him in my Didymos, Katja, a lovely and oh-so-comfy woven wrap.)
On our nightly walks, Owen likes to find the moon, but lately it hasn't been out. He also likes to point out stars and all the porch lights. We sing songs and walk in the cool darkness. Our favorites are the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", "The Ants Go Marching", and "Rose." The other night, as I started humming "Rose" he began singing along to his own tune, "Ro, ro, ro, ro, ro, ro. . . " Our walks usually last about half an hour, and we return with a sleeping baby. I slip him out of the wrap and lay him down as he continues to dream about dawgs and other wonderful things.

Welcome little Carter Alan!

Congratulations to Steve and Lauren who are the proud new parents of Carter Alan born this morning, weighing 8lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 21 inches long! He is absolutely gorgeous and is the first grandchild on his mama's side of the family to have dark hair - and what a great head of hair it is. He is so wonderfully pink, a robust little fellow. I think he looks like his daddy, but Abram sees a bit of his mama in him too. Owen looked and said, "baby." He's right! We can't wait to meet him. I just love the hand shot. It's just too sweet. May he always bring you joy and laughter.

Convocation

This morning Owen and I went out to see the procession into Franklin and Marshall's opening Convocation. The procession was led by a group of international students carrying their countries' flags. Some of them were even wearing traditional clothes from their home countries as they marched in to the Olympic theme song. They were followed by other students and finally by the professors in all their regalia. They certainly were a colorful crowd with all styles and colors of gowns, hoods, mortar boards and tams. Doctoral robes are traditionally black (though some schools choose to have colored robes - this makes the parade even brighter to see) with billowed sleeves and velvet stripes along the sleeves and down the front. Abram is wearing a doctoral hood with orange and blue chevrons (the school colors of UVA) inside and dark blue trim, representing his area of study. (You can see these in the picture from the back.) Although it is traditional to wear dress clothes under academic regalia, we certainly saw a fair representation of sneakers and Birkenstocks peeking out from underneath all the fancy robes.

Owen the Awesome Builder

Owen has really gotten into building with the Mega Blocks lately. They were a birthday gift from his cousins, Roman and Keiko, and while they were fun before, they are really fun now that he has figured out that he can build on his own. He has spent hours over the last week sitting with me and Abram in the floor, taking apart, rearranging, and putting together Mega Block structures. He especially likes the men, known collectively as "man," and is always careful to place them on top of whatever structure he (or we) have made. He also likes to make sure they are well hydrated, and frequently wants to give them water. I started offering a blue block for this purpose, but nowadays any block seems to fill the bill. He even makes little slurpy sounds as they drink. Another favorite game is to make something and sit on it. After a complex series of block placements and changes, with a big grin, he will announce, "sit" and proceeds to turn around and sit on it. This usually results in the collapse of the structure but occasionally, it survives mostly unscathed.