Making Beeswax Candles

When I saw local beeswax for sale at the Farmers' Market, 

I knew I wanted to try making some candles. The process wasn't difficult, 

and in fact it was kind of therapeutic.

Once my finished candle was burning, and the sweet smells of honey were filling the room, I knew it was something that I would like to do often. I might even take inspiration from some of these. I'm on the hunt for vintage bottles for sure.

Local Bounty: Shiitake Mushrooms

Look what showed up at the market this week! Shiitake mushrooms!!! I almost can't believe it. Mushrooms are difficult to grow, so I have a whole new level of respect for Tim and Meg. After attempting to grow some of our own food, I think it has made us appreciate these precious farmers and the rest of the Community Farmers' Market community even more. I asked Tim his favorite way to eat the shiitake mushrooms. He recommended venison with onions and mushrooms. So that's exactly how we ate them. They were mighty fine!

Maple Syrup Festival 2013

Today we headed to Auburn, KY for the annual 

Maple Syrup Festival at the Federal Grove Bed and Breakfast. 

We love some maple syrup around here so it was fascinating to see how it is produced.

 

There were buckets hanging on maple trees all around the bed and breakfast. 

Every so often you would see a drip.

 Once the sap is collected, it goes to the sugar house and gets boiled down for quite some time. It takes 35-50 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup.

 Then all of that deliciousness is bottled up for all to enjoy...

and we definitely enjoy it!

Where We Stand with Food

 

a typical picnic lunch from the summer...

meatballs, steamed broccoli, strawberries, beets, kale, and summer squash 

It's been almost 10 months since we started a Paleo lifestyle. I'm not sure why it is so intriguing, but I get more questions about the way we eat than just about anything. So I thought it might be time for another update. You can read why we started Paleo here and how it has affected our lives here.
Because we still included raw dairy in our diets, we were technically eating a Primal diet. In November, after talking with Dr. F, we decided to give up raw dairy. We sold back our cow shares and gave up cheese, butter, sour cream, milk, yogurt, etc. I admit, I was a little sad because we had such great sources for local milk and cheeses.
Within a couple of weeks of being dairy-free, the bumps that I've had on my upper arms MY ENTIRE LIFE started to go away. The tiny bumps that had shown up on the boys' cheeks and arms started to go away, too. I learned very quickly how to use coconut milk as a dairy replacement in many of my recipes. We also found a couple good sources for dairy-free chocolate.

My biggest fear of going dairy-free was that the boys weren't going to be getting enough calcium. They don't drink a lot of bone broth (actually none) and they would have to eat lots and lots of cruciferous veggies to get adequate amounts of Calcium. They can only drink so many smoothies and juiced veggies a day after all. So we started the boys on a chewable Calcium supplement and they try to drink two glasses per day of orange juice fortified with Calcium. After being reassured by our pediatrician that the boys would be perfectly fine, we embraced the dairy free lifestyle.
So we were truly Paleo. But, after that same November visit with Dr. F and with his guidance, we slacked up a bit on being totally grain and legume free. The new priority was avoiding gluten, dairy, corn, and sugar. I avoid gluten like it is the plague. While the selections are limited especially in BG, I simply adore restaurants that have gluten-free menus.

We still avoid most grains, but have slowly introduced gluten-free oats.
(Oats are gluten free, but I prefer this brand because they can guarantee the oats are manufactured in a gluten free environment.)
 

oatmeal casserole (with a few modifications as noted)

I will eat white rice and gluten-free pasta (if it is made with rice), but that's only happened a handful of times in the last ten months. We have also tried black and pinto beans and they just might stick around in moderation. I have still stayed away from gluten-free baking mixes and gluten-free breads. We seem to be doing fine without them and some of the ingredients on the prepackaged gluten-free stuff scares me. You can bet on me searching for a gluten-free bakery (like this one) though whenever we venture away from Bowling Green.
We still only use local honey and maple syrup for sweeteners. They work just fine and it's amazing how quickly your palate can adjust.

So that's where we stand with food right now. I said it before and I will say it again. I’m sure things will change over time, but we know we definitely aren’t going back to our old food lifestyle. We are in this for the long haul.

Adventures in Louisville

Saturday morning, we headed north to spend our day

 in Louisville. Our day was full of fun adventures.

lunch at Bluegrass Burgers

 

 visiting the oldest ornamental water tower in the world

(Visiting water towers is just kind of our thing.)

 a gluten free, nut free, dairy free treat at Annie May's Sweet Cafe

 

Be still, my heart.

 We couldn't resist bringing some sweet treats home with us.

 

some fun at the Louisville Science Center

(We took advantage of the $5 admission after 5pm deal that they offer

 for those of you thinking about visiting.)

 

 It was simply a splendid day!

Valentine's Day 2013

 A few glimpses from our day...

a party with friends...

 

 which included "Love Bug" headbands...

 

 homemade playdough...

 some snacks and a craft...

 and playing outside.

 This afternoon the boys enjoyed playing with the Valentine's Day sensory bin...

 checking the mail for valentines (thanks Nana and Pop)...

and watching A Charlie Brown Valentine. 

What a good day!

Preparing for Easter

Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Lent is the 40 days (minus Sundays) leading up to Easter.  The forty days commemorate the time Jesus spent fasting in the desert and endured temptation by the Devil. It is also a time for believers to prepare for Resurrection Sunday through prayer, repentance, alms giving, etc. Many people use this Lenten season to give up something.  We, as a family, are going to try to add some things. Just like with Advent and Christmas, we are trying to make Easter more meaningful for our family. We want to take this time to truly stop and listen to God. We want to love and help others by serving and putting others first. We also want to pray and savor God's word. Then for the two weeks leading up to Easter we will be doing some specific Resurrection crafts and activities with the boys. If you are interested in making Easter more meaningful, here are a few resources that have helped us and some of the things we are going to try to include during this special time:

• a link to my Pinterest Easter board for activities for the boys
• Resurrection series- We'll start this 10 days before Easter
• Rachel Held Evans- all of her Lent ideas
• 40 Days of Living the Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight
• The Little Way of Lent: Meditations in the Spirit of Therese de Lisieux
• a traditional Passover meal
• A Holy Experience
• The Jesus Storybook Bible 

As always we'll be sure to share along the way.

{Gratitude} Lately

      So very thankful for such a fun airport homecoming party

 and that one sweet little boy is home with his family...

thankful for dinner at Chipotle after a check-up with the doctor...

thankful for a Birthday invitation from one of our Burmese friends...

 

(The 3 hour blessings and worship service we experienced yesterday was amazing!) 

thankful for more and more fair trade options showing up in stores...

 

thankful for a date night that included Guided Mediation at Center Yoga

and then teaching Nana, Seth, and Silas 

how to do their own mediation once we got home  

 
  What have you been thankful for lately?

Preschool at Home: Week 10

This past week we learned about the letter "J," the number 10, 

Jack and Jill, Jack Be Nimble, and Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors. 

Here a look at our board and some of the things we did:

  

We made a jaguar out of the letter "J."

 We read about Joseph and his colorful coat this week.

 We made our own colorful coat using a brown paper bag.

 We learned Jack and Jill. 

All of our activities came from Lively Times with Nursery Rhymes (a great resource).

 

I made a Jack and Jill game which came from the book listed above. 

We played it several times during the week.

 

We also learned Jack Be Nimble. We practiced jumping over a candlestick and we also 
watched what would happen if you put a candle inside a jar. We talked about fire needing oxygen and counted how long it took for the flame to go out. We had to do this several times, because Seth loved it so much.

 We practiced writing numbers, drawing pictures, and writing letters on our chalkboard.

 Next week we move on to the letter "K," the number 11, 

Three Little Kittens, and lots of other things.