Saturday, September 29, 2012

Twins

Nathan didn't realize that our neighbors and Landen's classmates Brandon and Christopher are twins.  They really look nothing alike as they are fraternal; I just thought he knew that!  This was our breakfast conversation:
Nathan:  "So are Landen and me twins?"
Me:  "No."
Nathan:  "How do YOU know?" 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Open Air Dining

Harvest means dinner in the field on most days.  The girls and I take our meals on wheels wherever we are called.  Dinner is a hot meal and "lunch" at about 6pm is bologna sandwiches, assorted sides, and the famous Melius Pepsi floats made with Schwan's ice cream. 
We have discovered this year that the stow and go feature of mini vans is the perfect corral for a 9 month old baby.  And, it makes it convenient for Rachel to beg food off of grandma like a puppy.  See that pudding mouth?  Mmmm!
Teresa gets the credit for most of these photos.
Tomorrow we take the tractor another round . . . .

Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

I ventured a little out of my cooking comfort zone to try this oatmeal recipe. 
The result? 
It was a success! 
This is from the blog He and She Eat Clean and was shared by Facebook friend Sarah, whose family follows a clean eating plan. 
Now, you can't mess with a South Dakota farm boy's diet too much.  We are a mid western meat and potatoes eating family, with plenty of fruits and veggies, too.  I am thankful that we eat the beef we raise, so we know exactly where the majority of our meat comes from.  David doesn't complain about what I cook, but I also know not to veer too far off the meat and potatoes path lest he start. :o)  I can't say I would do things much differently if I were single, since I was raised as a meat and potatoes girl myself.
Still, this recipe looked like something this family might like!
This was the first time I ever bought steel cut oats (which looks nothing like oatmeal) and almond milk.  I am a descendant of dairy farmers.  As long as you don't have a doctor's note saying you can't drink milk, you support the dairy farmers and you drink your milk! 
I gathered all of my ingredients and stirred this together before bedtime.  By the next morning, the kitchen smelled wonderful and all I had to do was stir and serve our breakfast!  We did add a little more brown sugar and milk to our bowls, but other than that, it went over well!  In fact, we all (except Rachel because of the almond milk) had a warmed up bowl for breakfast again today.  Just add a little extra water on the 2nd day. 
It makes 10-12 servings.
You will need:
3 cups steel cut oats
3 cups vanilla almond milk (original recipe says unsweetened, but I could only find regular)
10 cups water
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar (original recipe calls for IDEAL brown sweetener)
3 T cinnamon
1-2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Spray crock pot with cooking spray.  Mix all ingredients together in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.  Stir before serving. 

Check out heandsheeatclean.blogspot.com for more recipes and information on Clean Eating.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Sr. Helen Prejean

My friend Cathy invited me to join her to the South Dakota Pax Christi Conference on Saturday. 
The event was hosted by the Benedictine Sisters in Watertown and the Presentation Sisters in Aberdeen.  These are both such amazing groups of women!  If you think nuns are boring or if your only experience of a religious sister is what you've seen on TV, you need to become more familiar with these communities of sisters.  They are educated, funny, hard-working, joyful women who are placed all over the country doing all varieties of jobs.  It is always a joy to spend time with them. 
Sr. Helen Prejean is one of these amazing women, who is in a community of sisters in Louisiana.  You may remember her name from the 1995 movie Dead Man Walking in which Susan Sarandon portrayed her.  The movie was based on her book (of the same name) about her experiences as a spiritual advisor to a death row inmate. 
The conference focused on the death penalty in South Dakota and in the United States at large.  Pax Christi, and Sr. Helen, are strong opponents to the death penalty and support the dignity of all life from conception until a natural death.
Since the book and movie came out when I was too young to go to R movies, I missed them the first time around, but now I have my own autographed copy of Dead Man Walking
I'm truly thankful that Cathy invited me to share the day with her and meet this awesome woman who has done so much for social justice in the world.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

On His Head

Nathan is always, always, always standing on his head!  In the hallway, in the middle of the room, on chairs, in his bed (when is supposed to be saying bedtime prayers), in the van . . . wherever he thinks he can, he will try! 
Before he does something I ask him to do, he stands on his head. 
After he is done doing what he is supposed to do, he stands on his head.
I'm beginning to think that God made this boy to have his upside down be right side up!

Friday, September 21, 2012

I love you, red heads of the world!

I didn't know if I should post about this because then I would have to admit I watched (mostly listened to) the new show The New Normal this past week.  I had it on as I was doing a little online shopping after the kids' bedtime (how did moms shop before the internet??) and although it's not something I'll watch again, I thought one part was particularly funny.
In it, a young woman has decided to be a surrogate mother for a gay couple.  They are all in the doctor's office and the doctor is explaining all of the prenatal tests that can be done to determine any range of deformities and disorders in their unborn child.  At some point, the doctor mentioned a possibility of the baby having red hair and one of the dads completely freaked out.  By the end of the appointment, the doctor was patting him on the back and assuring him that red heads only make up 4% of the world's population. 
I just did a quick Google search and there was an article in the 1/10/12 Chicago Tribune entitled "It's Tough to Be Red."  In it, it said there is such a thing as red head discrimination and it is a form of racism! 
This brings back a hilarious memory from last year's post-pheasant hunting supper in which one of David's aunts (whom I will let remain anonymous) reported to us that sperm banks were no longer accepting red heads because red headed children were getting picked on.  I'm not even sure how we got on that subject, but I don't think I've laughed that hard since. 
I guess I shouldn't have been laughing . . . it turns out this is a serious matter we have on our hands!
I had no idea. 
David seems to have weathered the red head storm alright, as have two of his three siblings.  I think my 86 year old grandpa has done alright in life, too.
As I've said before, I was thrilled to get 2 red heads and it was the first thing the nurses reported to me after Rachel was born. 
Maybe we just live in a more accepting region, where red heads are a welcome diversion from the dishwater blonds and light browns of European ancestry that seem to make up most of the country side.  If anything, I've noticed people will call hair a shade of red, even if it isn't, just because they want themselves or their child to be a little unique.  I used to occasionally dye my hair a shade of strawberry blond, but I don't anymore since I live in a household with three authentic red heads.
The last time I did it several years ago, it just made me feel like a wannabe.  I just can't compete with the real thing, which fortunately I've been able to pass down through recessive genes!
Stay strong red heads of the world!  You make up a colorful 4% of the world's population that we need. 
Otherwise, we'd just be black, brown, blond and BORING. 
:o)

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Getting Ready!

Did you read your Faulk County Record yesterday? 
The 2nd Celebrating Fall Open House is only 10 sleeps away!
I am looking forward to spending a beautiful afternoon with women from the area.  (Men are invited, too, of course, but we usually don't see too many of them!)
I am finalizing the menu . . . expect some apple and pumpkin treats and I am going to attempt mulled wine.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate once again and we can enjoy a gorgeous fall day out on the deck.
Hope to see you there!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

9 months old!

Rachel has become quite the mover and shaker . . . and noise maker!  She loves to hear herself talk.  (Why didn't ANY of my children get my introverted quiet gene??)  :o) 
She also loves to smile and laugh and put EVERYTHING into her mouth.  Some of her favorite foods are muskmelon, watermelon, bananas, and American cheese!
Her older siblings adore her and Nathan has nicknamed her "SongConk."  I don't know where he came up with this.  I thought if I ignored it, he would forget about it, but it has been WEEKS and he still has not!  I suppose he could call his little sister worse things!
Happy 9 months, Rachel Olivia.  You are our Rachel sunshine!

Friday, September 14, 2012

Homecoming 2012

Today was our favorite part of Homecoming week--the parade!!!! 
Teresa just could NOT wait and she was excited to show her baby sister what a Homecoming parade is all about, which is, of course, CANDY!
 
(Really, is anyone in need of a few hundred Frooties?  We have a few we could spare . . . .)
 
In between the shower of candy, we saw some "Incredible" First Graders and Third Graders dressed like "Bat Cats."
Teresa and Henry were awesome little candy catchers, but Rachel hung out with dad for this year. 
(Watch out next year!)
As usual, we did not end our Homecoming Day at a football game, but harvesting soybeans instead.  The boys didn't mind, though.  They got to be in the field with Dad and Landen found the game on the radio, so he was a happy farmer.
Life is good.
GO WILDCATS!

Fall on the Farm

 
 
 
 
We've been having all sorts of fun on the farm.
See Rachel's "pony hair" (as Landen used to say)?  I was able to gather just enough for a little red ponytail!
Nathan and Teresa LOVE it when I cut up a watermelon.  They take the rinds outside and bite off every last bit of watermelon they can get and throw the rinds into the trees when they are done.
We took a walk to check out the first yellow tree of fall in our tree grove.
Teresa loves getting the mail and our mail carrier Janice has been kind to let us keep our footstool by the box.
Like Chicken Little, count to ten and even more . . . we all have COUNTLESS blessings to be thankful for!
 
By the way, my chigger bite itch has subsided!!  Rubbing alcohol worked for me and many people suggested clear fingernail polish (which I did not have at home) to help the itch, too. 
 
Happy Fall!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Pierre Souvenir

As we left the SD Discovery Center last week, I let each of the Big 3 choose a souvenir.  Landen chose a model of the earth and moon to paint, Nathan chose a set of Kids Connects and Teresa chose a stencil art set.  I was good to go.  I was happy to have some laughs and a couple glasses of wine with my good friend Rachel.
Well . . . it seems a few souvenirs found their way home with me after all.
Chiggers.
Oh, yeah.  I thought chiggers only lived in stagnant water.  Not so.  It seems they can live in sand by the Missouri River, too! 
The bites didn't show up until Tuesday morning (we had visited the river the previous Saturday), so I thought I had been bitten by spiders during the night.  I thought maybe a spider family moved in while we were all on our vacations and were angry that we had returned. 
I tore our bed apart and washed all of the sheets and blankets.  I thought that solved the problem, but then more bites kept showing up.  Yesterday, I tore the bed apart AGAIN and checked all around and under the mattress for anything creepy crawly.  Did we have bedbugs?  If we did, I was getting rid of them sooner than later!
While the sheets were washing, I went on Google (you know, THE medical authority) to learn about the bites I was experiencing. 
From what I found, I am 99.9% it is chiggers.  The bites take a couple of days to appear and keep showing up.  The good news is that it is a myth that they burrow and stay in the skin.  The bad news is that this itching could last 2-3 weeks. 
Last night, I launched my home remedy attack.  First I covered my legs in red wine vinegar (no apple cider vinegar to be found), but I mostly just smelled like my recipe for Three Pepper Pasta.  A bath in Epsom salts helped for a little while.  Then I tried putting mouthwash on them with limited success.  I finally found a pretty good remedy in rubbing alcohol.
Does anyone else have any tried and true cures for chigger bites? 
For the next couple of weeks, I will be the host of my own Itchy and Scratchy Show!
 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Moving Up

Last night Rachel pulled herself up to stand on a laundry basket.  Today I looked over and she had pulled herself up on this chair to stand.  Our baby girl is growing . . . and moving up!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Fresh Pear Cake

If there is ever a casting call for Fruit Hoarders, I am SO in.  I just cannot resist any fruit that comes in a box.  I have had this problem for a few years (if you look back at posts, you'll see).  :o)   
It's the next best thing to having my own fruit tree, I suppose.  Or, maybe it is better.  I don't have to pick them and they don't make a mess in my yard!
We have been eating pears and pears and pears since I brought home the box yesterday. 
It works out great for Rachel, too, as she has decided that baby food is for BABIES.  She is a big girl with seven teeth.  Now pass the cut up big girl food, thank you very much.
I have done pear pie, pear muffins, pear sauce and today I tried Fresh Pear Cake.  I even timed it perfectly so my boys could have a warm slice as they came in the house from school. 
Oh, yeah.  Mother of the Year right here! 
(Too bad I am always out of the running for that award shortly after midnight on January 1!) 
 
Fresh Pear Cake
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 cups finely chopped pears (about 8 Bartlett pears)--no peeling required!
1 cup walnuts, if desired (I did not desire.)
Combine eggs, sugar, honey, oil and vanilla in a mixing bowl and mix well.  Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.  Stir into egg mixture just until moistened.  Stir in chopped pears.  The batter will be thick.  Spoon into a bundt cake pan and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes before turning over onto plate.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

a way to see in the DARK

My Jason Gray CD finally arrived in the mail and I loooovvveee it. 
(Yeah, I'm still pretty old school when it comes to my music. 
My mp3 player has barely ever been used!) 
 
Jason Gray?
"Who's that," you ask? 
I know that's what you just asked because that's what everyone asked me when I went to see him in concert a couple of weeks ago.  (Not even my husband or my friend Deb who joined me knew who they were going to see.  I'm glad they trusted me!)  He's a Christian singer I recently discovered.
(I thought he was new, but he's not.  Just my discovery of his music is new.)
 
I bought the CD because I liked several of the songs I had already heard.  By some sort of Divine Providence, these songs and the rest of the music on this CD is just what I needed to hear. 
 
This year has had some dark times . . . in our home, family, and friends' lives.  Last week was especially tough on some very special friends of mine.  Ugh. 
As one friend shared with me,
These are the times for which our faith has been given.
 
Amen, friend, amen.
 
Is it a coincidence that this verse had been in my mind and on my heart lately and it is also printed on the inside cover of this CD??
 
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:5
 
Good stuff. 
 
Keep hoping.
Keep your eyes on the light.
Even when you can't see it, IT'S THERE.
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Take Me to the River!

We spent Friday afternoon on the beach of the Missouri River. 
Everybody loves a beach . . . and Rachel couldn't resist eating it, too.  Yum, yum.

South Dakota Discovery Center

 
We spent last Friday morning at the South Dakota Discovery Center in Pierre.  The kids had a wonderful time exploring, climbing, building, and learning about science.  Nathan said, "There are TOO MANY exciting things to do here!"  He also loved that he was allowed to shout and touch anything he wanted to touch!
If you're ever in Pierre, this is a good place to visit with kids of any age!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

9 Things I Love About My Landen

Happy 9th Birthday to Landen!  Mom's too tired (lazy?) to post pictures tonight of our recent celebratory adventures, so I will just talk about my first-born son and pictures will follow some day in the near future!

My Landen is 9!!  Wow.  It seems like just yesterday David checked me into the hospital and went to Burger King to get something to eat.  (In his defense, NOTHING was happening at that point.)  At some point during the night/early morning approaching LABOR day no less, I declared that I wanted to give the anesthesiologist $1 million dollars for the epidural he had just administered.  David thought that would be a bit extravagant.  No way.  I was sure and still am that that man saved my life!  :o) 
And, so . . .
here are 9 things I love about my Landen.
1.  His smile and laugh.  He has always had the best smile and belly laugh.  He has been making other people smile for his entire life.  One memory I have of him as a baby is sitting in church with him facing me.  He smiled at me and I heard several women behind me making "ahhh" sounds at the sight.  He was a distraction in church quite often . . . and not always because he was cute!  (That part I didn't love so much . . . .)
2.  His love of reading and history.  I love how he can pick out something obscure (like Great Lakes ships) and study every possible detail.  Then he remembers those details, too.  Still, I have to remind him EVERY morning to brush his teeth.  That must not be an important detail in his life!
3.  He is a wonderful big brother to his younger siblings.
4.  He eats anything I put in front of him.  He's a mom's dream around the supper table and even helps me cook and bake on occasion.  In fact, he made and frosted his own birthday cake today!
5.  He has discovered Garth Brooks and thinks it's cool that radio stations are still playing songs from "way back then."  Maybe we'll go to see Garth at the Brown County Fair some day together when he is on his retirement tour.
6.  I never have to wonder what he is thinking.  (I don't always LIKE this quality right now, but I know it could come in REALLY handy if he continues this habit as a teenager.)
7.  He loves to mow the lawn, thus taking the pressure off of me to find time to sneak outside and mow in short bursts over several days.  Now we do it as a team, with him more than willing to watch his baby sister (and watch TV) while I do my part and get some fresh air, too.
8.  His red hair and freckled face.  I always wanted a little red head (and now I have two)!
9.  From the moment I knew I was expecting him (and the charts said he was 4 mm long!), I was completely head over heels in love with this child.  When he was born, I knew for the first time what it meant to be willing to give my life for another person. 

When God gave me Landen, he made me a MOM. 

I am so very grateful for that.

Happy Birthday to the one and only Landen Joachim Melius!