What do You Dream of?

Ya, I know, I ended the sentence with a preposition. Deal with it (it's ok to do that if you live in Minnesota, really).

My daydreams (in mostly no particular order):

1. Winning enough $$ in the lottery to pay the entire mortgage so I can be a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom)
2. Build a "green" house that is off the grid. Off the grid means totally self sufficient, no public utilities needed. We'd have solar and wind power generators, heat and cool with geothermal and wood burning stove, use a well for water and recycle and collect rain water. Have at least one self composting toilet (they don't stink!). Garden and harvest, can and freeze tons of our own food.
3. Buy my in laws farm when they are ready to sell it. It's the coolest place in the world for raising a family! (and we could do a lot of #2 there too!)
4. Go back to school and become a midwife.
5. Go back to school and get a degree in religious studies.
6. Have another baby.
7. Home school my child(ren).
8. Own a few horses.
9. Go back to New Zealand with my hubby and child.
10. Take more Tai Chi classes and master the 24 Form.

Ya, that's about it. How 'bout you?

More Homemade $$ Saving Recipes

Do you remember my homemade laundry soap blog? We are still using that batch that I made way back then. It cost about $6 to make 5 gallons. And it works~! It's all we've been using on our laundry - daily wear, delicates, DIRTY DIAPERS, K's greasy garage and workshop clothes. It has been a great recipe. I was tired of spending so much on dishwasher detergent so I googled a recipe for that recently. I made up the first batch this afternoon and after 2 loads thru the dishwasher I am pretty sure we have another homemade winner! It's super simple, and costs about 3 cents (yes, you read that right!) per load! Cascade by comparison costs about 12 cents per ounce . To make this powder recipe you'll need an empty 40 ounce container (I used the old one that I had just emptied of commercial dishwasher powder).

• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
• 1/2 cup Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup food grade citric acid

Mix it all together, stir or shake well. Done. Yup, that's it! Add 1tablespoon per dishwasher load. Oh, and as for the expensive JetDry and other no spot products, just use plain white vinegar instead. Super duper cheap and spotless! This dishwasher powder will tend to clump, but that doesn't affect performance. Also, it's phosphate free, another bonus for your glasswear and crystal.

The next recipe I am going to try is for REAL vanilla extract. You do realize that you are paying a ton for a tiny bottle that is mostly alcohol and water when you buy vanilla, right? So, why not make your own? The recipe is easy and you can use either rum or vodka for the alcohol part.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

• 3 medium vanilla beans, or 1 1/2 fat ones
• 1 cup rum or vodka
• Have ready a 1-cup glass jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid; I used an empty (and clean, obviously) jar of jam. Pour boiling water into it, let rest for 10 minutes to sterilize, and pour out the water.

Using a sharp knife, slice the beans open lengthwise to expose the seeds. Tuck the beans in the jar and fill with liquor. Close the jar, shake it a few times, and place it in a cool, dark cabinet; you may have to whisper a few words of reassurance if the jar is, understandably, a little frightened.
Let the jar rest in there for 8 weeks, shaking it again once or twice a week, or whenever you remember to. The mixture will get darker and darker over time.

You can start using your extract by the end of the eighth week. Use however much you need, and when you notice that you're running a little low -- that you've used, say, 20% of the extract -- top it off with more liquor (preferably of the same type) and shake again. And every once in a while, when you're using a fresh bean in a recipe, you can add the empty pod (rinsed off and dried if it's been steeped in milk or cream) to the jar. If you continue to "feed" it this way, the extract will keep forever; just remove some of the older beans if the jar becomes too crowded.

It's nice to be back in the saddle

I have my road bike (bicycle, not Harley - sold that a long time ago!) up on a trainer stand in the family room. I missed doing triathlons the past two years and want to 1) get back in shape and 2) get back to participating in triathlons. Let's get one thing straight, I participate, I do not compete! Very different levels of athletic ability there, very different! So tonite, with the kick in the pants that Toni gave me, I got my shoes on and got pedaling. Then I did 50 crunches. My feet hurt. I have a pretty nice tri bike for a weekend warrior and the shoes are a totally rigid sole that has hardware on the bottom and they clip into receivers instead of having pedals. They allow you to pedal the full circle, pushing down and pulling up so that you have 360 degrees of power at all times going to the bike. It's way more efficient and powerful than the simple piston motion of regular pedaling. Since the soles are completely rigid though it takes about 2 weeks of every day riding to get my feet used to not flexing at all. That and the pelvis bones are a little tender. The racing seat is pretty small and not all that cushioned. I do have aero bars on the front too. I love them!!!! You rest your forearms on the lower cushions and your hands go up in front. It's very relaxing posture and once I hit my rhythm and find my gear that's where I go. So, tonite I did a few miles, tomorrow a few more. I want to work up to 15 miles a day 6 days a week before the new year. Why? Because this is waiting for me!!!!

Below, me (facing shore) getting used to the lake temp pre-race.

Me on the run.

(That's me after the race and our neighbor. I talked him into doing this tri just 6 weeks earlier, yep, he manned up and trained for his first tri for only 6 weeks and did it!)

Of course, I have to add in the dreaded running too. Ugh...So, feel free to send me electronic kicks in the butt, hold me accountable. I want to be a hot momma who models a healthy active lifestyle for her family.

I am so glad that Monster Dog is a good dog!

The time spent training Monster Dog and working with him as a therapy dog has been rewarding. The hours and hours we spent volunteering at the women's shelter with children of abused women, the hours spent cvolunteering at the VA Hospital in the polytrauma unit were some of the most rewarding moments of pet ownership ever...until this morning. See what I mean:

G-Man and I went upstairs later this afternoon to change a diaper; when we came back down, ChewToy had decided to hang out in on of the toy boxes. So, G-Man played with her! He got several fistfulls of fur before kitty took off. We are so fortunate to have 2 good tempered pets. Chewy even has all of her claws still and she is great with G-Man. He loves his animals!

(again, forgive the lack of quality here, it was taken with my phone)

G-Man's Crazy 2 weeks.

It's absolutely crazy how much G-Man has grown the past 2 weeks. Not only is he a total crawler, but he is a FAST crawler! He can also crawl up one step into our kitchen (from the living room). Two or three times he has pulled himself up on furniture to stand! He signed his first word: "Milk" or "Nurse" and he uses it at daycare too! He can stretch out while sitting and reach toys without falling or tipping and he rolls all over and sits up on his own. It is amazing watching him develop and grow! He has also started sleeping in his room, in his crib, across the hall from us.

ya, everyone gets all excited about that one and says, "Oh that's great!" or "Well, good, it's certainly time." Really, why? Why is 9 months of co-sleeping wrong or weird? Why is it not right for me to not want to sleep next to my still nursing baby? I don't like that he is across the hall from us. I don't like hearing that it's great, it's not. I am only doing this because he doesn't get much sleep at daycare the 2 days a week he is there. That lack of sleep is so hard on him! I want him to be able to sleep there, so we are doing this arrangement here. I don't like it. It doesn't feel right to me.

Many of my parenting philosophies have changed (and I am sure will continue to over the months and years) but for now, I find that many of the things I believe in are rooted in Attachment Parenting. (You can learn more about it here.) I belive that my emotions and experiece of labor and birth affect my child. I am not surprised that I loved being pregnant, being in labor or birthing my son. I knew I would. I am saddened by people who talk about them as if they are a burden, or scary or fearful. They are not! It's a beautiful gift! I think that babies should be nursed, and nursed on demand never on a schedule! I think that skin to skin is essential for babies and for mommies too. I am heartbroken when I see babies carried in those car seats. They must just hunger for touch! I wear my son. He has a sling he just snuggles down into and off we go! He has never sat in the seat of a grocery cart, never been carried around in the car seat from place to place. I think that closeness is essential. I have slept next to or with my baby for the past nine months, following all safety precautions and guidelines. I can smell if my baby is too hot, I can sense him at night just before he wakes to nurse. At least, I could. Now he is across the hall. In a crib. It stinks. I don't like it. Don't bother telling me it's for his own good. At this age, it's not.

Did YOU see the chariot races this weekend?

Above is Hubby and his team's chariot. Yes, those are little unicorns on the front of the chariot, definite style points, don't you think?

Hubby is an engineer . He works with engineers. They get bored easily. They create challenges for themselves. They write their own rules. Mostly they have to write their own rules because they do things no one else has done.

Above, all three chariots.

This weekend was the 2nd JunkYard Wars vehicle build. The challenge was to build a chariot and race it. The chariot had to be powered by pedal bikes, (2 of them) and the chariot had to hold 2 people. Construction could only be between 10am and 3pm the day of the race, there was a dollar limit to what they could spend on materials, and using Nerf and water was allowed to distract or derail opponents. Oh and the chariot could only be steered and braked by the chariot driver, not by the bikes. I know there were lots more rules, but you get the idea. Needless to say, the event was hilarious! About 20 relatives and friends of the chariot designers showed up to cheer (and laugh) them on. There were 3 teams and the team that won was the only team whose wheels didn't totally collapse. I love that my hubby is creative like this, that he loves to create and invent and build. I hope that G-Man takes after daddy...what a lucky little boy he will be as he grows up and they make stuff in the workshop together

This is the team that ended up winning.

This team broke first, as soon as guy #2 jumped on here it overstressed the wheels on the cart.

Hubby's team racing their *heavy* chariot. The thing is a lot of steel! They did plenty of welding.

The race!!

Hubby with the broken chariot!

I think it's hilarious how they trust their designs and the design of their competitors. Did you notice the variety of protective gear they had on? Everything from hockey breezers and helmets to motorcycle helmets to motocross chest protectors and Rollerblade gear. I do think that hubby's team had the best water delivery system. You can see a silver tank hanging from a backpack on the chariot. That's an old fire extinguisher; the kind you fill with water then pressurize with air. They nearly knocked their opponents off their bikes with it!

Random Cuteness!

These were all taken by my mom and I love them!

Above G (Eeyore) with his only real Auntie.

Some are from early/mid October, some from Halloween. Most of them are while G-Man is at Gramma's house. It's nice to see what they've been up to! Thanks Mom! I love them all!

He is sitting in what was my highchair!

Mmmm, naptime with Mommy at Gramma's. I just love snuggling up with my baby! This is my heaven on Earth!