What's In Our Pool Bag

We've been to the pool more so far this summer than we have in summers past. Both kids just completed swim lessons at a local university and we've had a few pool playdates with friends who are either members of a pool or who have a pool. Yay for water fun in this crazy hot weather we've had lately!

To get both kids (and myself) ready for a day of pool fun, it takes a big ol' bag of supplies. Here's what I've been using this summer.

The bag: my trusty Lands End Natural Canvas Tote (medium) and it's only $20 right now! I also use this for some car trips. I still have to carry some a towel or some floats in my arms (or make the kids do it), but I don't want to have a tote that is way to big to handle/store. 

The brush: My little lady has long, wavy/curly hair. I braid it for the pool but it's still an ordeal to get it combed after rinsing. I read about this Wet Brush in two magazines recently and got on Amazon and ordered it right away. AMAZING! No more crying after pool/bath because I'm pulling her hair out trying to get it combed. And I had to get purple, her new favorite color. 

The towels: We use normally just use their Disney towels that the kids received as gifts a few years ago, personalized with their names. 

The sunscreen: We had previously used whatever I could find on sale, since we use so much. But this year, when we first applied sunscreen for a long day outside, both kids broke out in a rash all over their bodies. The same sunscreen we had used last summer without issue. So we switched to Babyganics Mineral-Based Baby Sunscreen and they haven't had any issues yet. 

The goggles: Because what kid likes to swim without goggles? We had some cheap Speed goggles (as shown above) that we got in a two pack at Costco last summer, but both kids wanted swim masks that covered their noses as well. So I found these at Target this week and they love them. The fit is great and they are easy to adjust. 

There are a few other things I always pack in our swim bag. I always pack a big water bottle full of ice water, a pack of gum (for me), and their Puddle Jumpers even though I'm trying to get my little lady confident enough to swim without hers. 

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How do you enjoy pool time with the kids? 

(*This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.) 

Editing and Breaking Busy

Part of my 2016 goal of living with intention includes editing. If something isn't adding to my life, I need to get it out of my life.

I am a stay at home parent and my days fly by, filled with tasks around the home, running kids to and from school, managing our finances, volunteering at school, preparing meals… the list goes on and on. I can ALWAYS find something to do. But is it all moving me forward? Does it all serve a purpose? Is it adding to my life, or just adding to the noise?

I am thankful to have been chosen for Alli Worthington's launch team for her book, Breaking Busy: How to Find Peace and Purpose in a World of Crazy. Ladies, you need to read this book ASAP. It's a fast, easy read that is enjoyable and humorous. Alli shares several humorous examples in her days of go, go, go. You know those days-- you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached! Those days aren't good for you or anyone around you. 

In a call with the launch group, Alli said, "Busyness is big problem in the modern world. It robs us of a clear vision of who we’re created to be and the life we’re created to have." YES! YES! YES! 

How many days have you had where you can't even remember exactly what you did, but you know you were exhausted, frustrated, short-tempered, and sharp-tongued? I've had too many of those days, mostly of my own doing, and I don't want my kids to remember their mom like that. My husband doesn't deserve a wife like that after his own long, and often frustrating, days at work. I don't want to be that person.  

It's time to take back our days so we can enjoy the lives we want. 

Now, Alli is offering a FREE 5-day Breaking Busy mini-course. You can check out the details and sign up here. I can't wait! 

(*This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here. I received a free advance copy of Breaking Busy as part of the launch team, but, as always, all opinions are my own.) 

Art with Kids: Frida & Diego

My little lady loves art. And I love art history. So when she expresses interest in learning about artists and reading art books, I'm on it. I recently decided to introduce her to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Me, Frida by Amy Novesky features beautifully illustrated pictures in the style of Frida Kahlo.

Jonah Winter's Frida includes imagery found in Frida Kahlo's art work.

Duncan Tonatiuh's style mimics that of Rivera's famous murals. 

These are great children's books about two wonderful artists. To show my little lady some of the actual art works, I let her look at some of my Taschen art books.

And here is a great online resource to view some of Frida Kahlo's works, and this of Diego Rivera's art from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

We haven't been able to do any special projects based on the art of these artists (thanks, school!). But I have some fun ideas for exploring the art of Frida and Diego with kids: 

- paint like Frida did on her own body cast after one of her many surgeries. Put a piece of cardboard or even a canvas on your child's torso and have him/her try to paint on it while lying on his/her back. Do this outside on a nice day! (I can only imagine the mess…) 

-make a self portrait a la Frida with lots of personal symbols 

-make a flower headband like Frida 

-tape paper to the wall and let the kids go to town making a mural like Diego. Put it in a room where you don't mind it being up for a while so they can come back and work on it over a few days/weeks (not years, like Diego). 

Here is my pin board with some more Diego and Frida art resources/activities. 

Have fun with it! 

I'm so enjoying this age where we can explore some of our interests with our kids. 

(*This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.) 

Radio Silence in Times of Anxiety

I started blogging again last year and I was really enjoying it, until anxiety got the better of me. And I just stepped away. For 11 months.

I've always been anxious. Some of you who have known me for years may recall my phobia of going into banks and gas stations (you know, I was expecting to be a casualty of an armed robbery gone awry). And remember in high school when I didn't get my driver's license until I was almost 17? (You know, I was pretty sure I was going to kill someone with my car.) There is possibility and probability, and my anxious brain cannot discern the difference between the two.

My anxiety has increased since having children. You know that saying about your heart walking around outside your body? Incredibly difficult for an anxious soul. And of course, dealing with Mr. MIB's Crohn's and emergency surgery and other hospitalizations hasn't helped. In fact, after the first surgery, I'm pretty sure I had a bit of PTSD for a long time. I'd just had my first baby and my husband almost died. I came unhinged emotionally for a long time, all the while keeping everyone alive and trying to move forward. Throw in a miscarriage and everything went sideways for a long time. I was convinced that every time he left for work, it was the last time I would see him. Something could happen with his guts or he could get into a terrible car accident. So I would wash dishes and think about managing two kids as an unemployed widow, working it through in my head. Thanks, anxiety! (Again, possibility vs. probability…)

Last fall, my anxiety reached peak levels. I experienced months of heart palpitations -- stress test turned out fine. I went into hypersomnia mode -- when I get super stressed, I just sleep. Which helps nothing and actually makes things worse.

And then it happened. Twice. I was driving the kids to school and had a panic attack. 2X. I wasn't particularly stressed, wasn't thinking about anything stressful. But I could barely get us to school, an 8 minute drive down the street. Twice in two weeks.

And then I did something that I don't normally do. I asked for help. I went to my doctor and said I needed something. Enter Lexapro.

Ahh, Lexapro. I had never been pro-medication for mental/emotional issues until my own anxiety became crippling.

It's been almost a year now and I'm feeling so much better. It's like the volume of the constant buzz of anxiety has been turned down by the medication. I can still get wound up with "what if" scenarios, but now I can escape them much sooner, not spending days and days dwelling on remote possibilities and self-concocted anxieties.

My doctor asked if I'd like to keep taking it -- yes, please! The first month was rough as I swung too far to relaxed and didn't care to keep up with my household duties and experienced some other not so great side effects (goodbye, libido). But after that first month, I adjusted to the medication and everything normalized, but this new normal was not nearly as anxious. What a difference it has made.

If you're dealing with anxiety, depression, etc, please don't be afraid to ask for help. I'm so glad I did.

Thoughts on Daily Rituals and Containing Chaos

I just finished reading Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey last night. It was a fun and easy read consisting of one to two page articles on different creatives (architects, writers, painters, composers, etc) and how they work.

Did they sleep in or get up early? Did they nap? How did they eat? Who was involved in their creative process? Where did they work?

The last artist featured was Bernard Malamud. I haven't read any of his works. From all accounts, he was disciplined and developed rituals that enabled his creative work. When asked by an interviewer about his rituals, he explained that discipline is key, but that you are who you are, even developing the best of habits won't turn you into someone else. What struck me was this:

"Eventually everyone learns his or her own best way. The real mystery is to crack you."

These words have been sitting with me. He was specifically referring to writers, and possibly other creatives. While I have always enjoyed creative pursuits, I am far from an artist. I dabble in hobby crafts. At best.

But when am I going to crack the mystery of me?

What I am trying to find my best way in is my home and my family. In being a better person. Since the beginning of the school year this year, I have felt off, run ragged, like I'm failing. I can't get up early enough or stay up late enough to do X or Y. My house is always a wreck, and my kitchen counter always covered by a mountain of paper and random items left, en route to another location. Eventually.

Projects left half finished, stuff piling up everywhere.

The mystery I'm trying to crack is me. What am I doing to make this better? Make it worse? What is making me tired? Is it me? Is the problem me? Is the solution me?

Is the self-centered nature of my inquiry the problem? ...

The few disciplined actions that I do engage in have helped with the feeling of chaos.

Using a planner helps. I have to write it down or I will forget about it, and I prefer paper. For a few weeks, I was forgetting to turn in library books on time. A minor thing, I know, but it was making me crazy to fail at something so small. Our library even sends out email reminders before the books are due. No reason to ever forget. And the library is conveniently located between our house and the kids' school. No reason to not return them. I just didn't. Now I write in my planner on the day books are due "X books due". Then I can look on the app or on my email and see which ones. Hooray for progress, albeit tiny.

Getting up earlier than everyone else helps. If I can start the day prepared, then I feel better. (See my post on managing mornings with kids for more tips on being prepared for the day ahead.) But with darker and colder mornings, I'm pretty much kissing that goodbye until spring.

Not procrastinating helps. I am the queen procrastinator. When I was a kid, I would clean out individual drawers before cleaning piles of clothes or toys covering my bedroom floor. Surprisingly, not much has changed there. So now I try to act the first time. Open mail and shred, recycle, pay the bill. Move an article of clothing not from one chair to the next, but from a chair to a hamper or a drawer or the closet. On a hanger. I'm not doing this 100% of the time, but when I do it even some, it helps so much. Touch it once.

I'm trying not to panic before the holiday whirlwind starts, but every day life feels like a lot right now.

Does everyone feel this way this time of year? Most of the time? How do you manage the chaos? What daily rituals do you have to help make your day and your work-- creative or otherwise-- better? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

(*This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Practicing Gratitude

Every day should be a day of thanksgiving. Count your many blessings. Be thankful for what you have.

I hear all of these sayings and agree with them. Then I feel guilty.

I don't practice gratitude every day. Some days it's hard to see how much there is to be thankful for. There's always something that sucks about my house or my bank account or my clothes or my body or the behavior of my children. Other kids don't act this way, other moms do this or that, other people have more money and nicer homes. Neater homes. (You know, good ol' fashioned beating up on yourself. Always productive.)

So it's no surprise that I am starting to see this behavior in my children. Of course, they're children. They get a toy and are already asking when they'll get the next one. When your kid asks when we're getting a new house because ours isn't good. Wow, how incredibly frustrating that is as a parent, but we do it ourselves. Why are we surprised when children can't control their desires when we as adults have problems with it too?

I noticed the problem creeping into our home at the beginning of 2014 and we started a "thankful jar". A mason jar and a small pad of paper sit on the dining room table, and we go around each night and say what we are thankful for. I write the date at the top of the page and record everyone's response.

The idea is to review them with my Mr. some night at the end of the year, when the kids are asleep and we have time to just be. To reflect and be thankful. It's just as important an exercise for the children as it is for the adults. Even when it's been a tough day, I can find lots to be thankful for. We haven't done it every day, and even missed a few weeks here and there, but it's been consistent enough that the kids know and ask about the "thank you" jar.

Like many of my Facebook friends, I've been posting daily what I'm thankful for during the month of November. It's a good exercise and one that I think should be year-round. Maybe I need a gratitude journal.

Today I am thankful for all that I have and all that I am. We're all works in progress.

How do you practice gratitude? How do you teach it to your children?

Finding Nemo Birthday Party - Details

Here are the details on my little man's 3rd birthday party. If you recall from the teaser post, we were all Nemo (or "Mee-mo" as he calls him). 

Unfortunately, we were so busy having fun with friends and family that we failed to take a lot of pictures. I guess that's the best indication of a successful party. 

Favors: 

I used the clearance stickers, some blue and white bakers twine, and tags made from orange paper with my tag punch to make cute "Thanks for swimming by!". Cute and simple favors. And who doesn't need more stickers? 

Setup: 

Our house is not terribly large and doesn't have an open floor plan-- yay mid 80s construction. The layout is basically a circle around the stairs-- living room, kitchen, dining room. So we really push the limits of our house with our party guests. And I can't help but think of this Irish toast. 

Check. 

Living room: 

So we rearranged furniture in the living room, pushing the chairs closer to the couch, setting up a few folding chairs, and putting together two kids' tables from IKEA so all of the kids could sit together and eat. I covered both tables with an orange plastic table cloth and taped the edges to the legs and underside of the tables with blue painters tape. What tape did show went with the theme and was easy to remove after the party. I had a few of the mylar Nemo balloons we had purchased from Amazon around the living room, and we had a slideshow going on the TV of pictures of our little guy from birth to three. We strung dark blue and light blue balloons across the windows to add a festive touch. 

Dining room: 

We set up a long folding table in our dining room and a card table. I used a blue green table cloth that I had for the long table, and my little lady painted a piece of kraft paper for the card table, with blues and greens and white to look like the ocean. I added in clusters of black, orange, and clear balloons around the room. Like clownfish swimming about. 

Over the large entry into the dining room, I hung a banner spelling our little man's first name made from the ocean paper I bought at Michaels. I used this tutorial. I alternated ocean and navy circles since the paper was reversible, and I used white printer paper for the letters. The font I used was Gill Sans Ultra Bold. It looked like the letters used for the Finding Nemo title. So easy and cute. I'm saving it to hang above his bed. 

Kitchen: 

I used our dining table, with the sides folded down, in front of our pantry door as the drink table (below). I used a dark blue tablecloth that I had and a white metal drink bucket that I got from Target several years ago. Great purchase. The drink tub was filled with sodas for the grownups and juice boxes for the kids, and we also set out a pitcher of water with the cups photographed below (left over from our daughter's Little Mermaid party a few years ago). We placed the cake on it for a few pictures and then moved it to safety on the counter. What kid could be able to resist touching that beautiful cake? 

Our kitchen has a large peninsula that we use every year to set up the food. We serve dinner at our parties since our families travel from out of town. This year we had Turkey Chili and Tortilla Soup. (Double batch of each recipe to feed around 20, had some leftovers. For the tortilla soup, I add in a can of white beans-- 1/2 pureed and 1/2 whole-- to the crockpot after it has cooked to thicken up the soup. If you want to stretch your leftovers, serve it over brown rice.) Make the soups a day before and start heating them in the crockpot about 2-3 hours before you want to serve them. It took a long time to warm them from refrigerated temp. I borrowed two giant, matching crockpots from my mom for the party. 

DELICIOUS! We also got a deli tray from Costco and some of their french rolls for sandwiches. I couldn't find the Chinet bowls I like to use with soups at parties, so we just used my Fiesta collection of bowls and soup mugs. Worked great! I had some clear spoons and orange forks for the cake. We used white napkins for dinner and the Finding Nemo beverage napkins for the cake. 

(We need to paint our cabinets. And get a new floor. In due time...)

It is almost impossible to find Nemo party supplies in stores now. I guess it's just not as popular as the other Disney themes. Here is a list of the Finding Nemo items we used with sources when possible:

Finding Nemo balloon bouquet (we had them filled at Liquor Barn the morning of the party and they're still up 10 days later)
Finding Nemo napkins (I bought them when our local party store was closing and having massive sales last year. I think I paid $0.50.) 
Finding Nemo invitations (Again, I got these on clearance when the party store closed-- $0.50 or maybe even $0.25 per pack.) 
Finding Nemo thank you notes (Clearance again. $0.50 or $0.25 per pack.) 
Finding Nemo fruit snacks - Meijer 
Wilton tropical fish cake pan - My husband makes the cakes and he was able to find this one on eBay for $25. No way was he going to pay $25 so he offered $12.50 and the seller accepted. It had never been used and still had the original label attached. He decided to use different coloring than the Wilton colors and it turned out great and tasty. He said that these were much easier to work with as far as mixing the colors. 

Our little man had an awesome party and got way too many presents. I love parties and having friends and family in our home, as crowded as it seems at times. And as long as it takes to clean up. I left the orange, black, and clear balloons in the dining room-- Halloween colors! I can't wait until the next party. My little lady will be 6 (how is that even possible?!?) in the summer. I wonder what crazy theme she'll decide. 

Did I leave out any details? Probably. Comment with a question and I'll respond. I love parties! 

(*This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.) 

What's in a Name?

[I will post about the birthday party-- a great success-- later this week. Apparently it was so much fun that we forgot to take many pictures so I'll need to get some pictures from my father-in-law.]

Google "Amal Clooney" and you'll get a long list of search results, many of those are about her name change. I saw a linked story on my Facebook feed this morning and started thinking about her name change, feminism, my name change, the grocery list... You know, random shower thoughts. The flow of thoughts that seemingly pour out through your scalp while you're blowdrying your hair. 

I changed my name, without hesitation, when the Mr. and I got married nearly 9 years ago. I had no connection to my maiden name, the name from my father, as he has been almost completely absent from my life. So in my mind I was changing my last name from a name that didn't mean much, given to me by a man who was essentially a ghost, to a name that I had some part in choosing since I was choosing to be with my husband, to follow him where he goes, until the end. We're together, we're a team. Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people...  

Just because I changed my name when I got married doesn't mean I think that women who don't change their names are any less married, any less committed. It also doesn't make me any less of a feminist. Even though I stay at home with the kids, our roles feel quite equal. He's the one who makes the kids' birthday cakes! And I handle the money and take out most of the trash. How less gender-typical can we get? 

Had I been attached to my maiden name (what an odd, somewhat antiquated term anyway), I could have kept it as my middle name, or suggested hyphenation. But that's a lot of letters to write and I didn't want that for myself or my (at the time) future children. I gladly accepted his name without thinking that I was losing any of my identity. But I cannot stand for someone to address mail to Mrs. Husband's Name. The name change was frankly the last thing on my mind when we decided to get married. I was thinking of how to handle holidays and how we'd handle shared finances and how to be a wife. 

And now that we have kids who are going to school, I'm Little Lady's Mom or Sweet Boy's Mom. I'd wager that most of the time the kids' teachers couldn't think of my name. How many times have you sat with the same moms at dance class or music class, talked about everything under the sun for weeks on end, and never even know their names, just their kids' names? Talk about losing your identity. Are feminists worried about unknowingly surrendering their identities to their children? 

Changing your name does not transform your identity at the time of your marriage. You find your new self in learning to be a true partner to someone.  

Finding Nemo Birthday Party - Preparations

We're getting ready for our little man's 3rd birthday this weekend. 3. How did that happen so quickly?

He finally settled on Finding Nemo for a theme after saying everything from Lego to Wreck-It-Ralph.  Now he just says, "My birthday is coming soon." I'm glad he went with something fairly easy and colorful. Planning the kids' parties is one of the most fun parts of motherhood for me. I like doing their parties and I like doing them big.

Here's what I'm thinking.

We already had the netting from a Little Mermaid party a few years ago. And I have an ever-growing collection of crepe paper and balloons. Yay for party supplies! I found the stickers to hand out as favors on clearance at Meijer last week-- 50 cents each. Useful and cheap.

Before my favorite party store closed last year, I went there and scooped up lots of clearance napkins and invitations, including the Nemo napkins above and the invitations I used this year. I found the scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby today and plan on making a banner with our little man's name. And the balloons and book were purchased from Amazon. We'll use the book as a guest book, asking the attendees to write a message to the birthday boy.

My husband will make the cake, and he found a (discontinued) fish pan on eBay. They were asking $25, he offered $12 and they accepted.

Now to keep the house clean and finalize the menu and decorations. Stay tuned for a picture-laden post of the party.

(*This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Don't Take It Personally

"I want to tell you something." My husband says, followed by a really long pause.

Wow, this could be anything, my mind says. An unbearably long pause after a phrase like that is bad for a natural pessimist. Illness. Job problems. Marriage issues. Money problems. Cancer, it's always cancer in my mind.

But thankfully it isn't.

"Don't take it personally when the kids make demands you can't meet." He continues. "I watched you go from excited to pick up the kids after they spent four nights with grandparents to deflated and completely defeated within ten minutes of getting them in the car. It's not fair to you. They're kids and they're demanding. It's not an indictment on your ability as a mother."

He knows me too well. Good talk, husband. Good man.

I do quickly feel defeated when I don't anticipate every need, when I feel woefully inadequate compared to other mothers, to other wives, to other women-- in real life and otherwise. I set impossible standards and then when I fail to meet them, I let everything slide. I stamp it with a big, "What's the point?" and try to act like it doesn't bother me as much as it does. I'm fooling no one.

My house is a wreck right now. Why? Mostly because it doesn't look the way I want it to, even when it is moderately clean. And cleaning a house filled with kids' toys and art work and my own hoarded craft supplies and projects and books mostly feels Sisyphean, even on the best of days.

So where do I go from here? I'm not really sure. I've never done this before. Just like what I said to myself on those unbearably long, mostly sleepless nights when our little lady was a screaming, angry baby. And on those nights when she peacefully fell asleep in my arms and it was me and her and some lullabies in a creaky rocking chair. "This moment will only happen once." Good or bad, I only get this day, this moment with these souls that are my family ONE TIME.

You become a mother and the job changes almost daily, until when, forever? These little kids of mine keep growing and changing and, luckily, I get to grow and change along with them.

Down on the Farm

We spent a few hours at Clark Family Farms on a tour with owner, Todd Clark. It was great and informative.

First we visited the chick brooder (where the baby chicks live). Our son just kept saying, "Oh, how cute!" :) Just lots of little fluffy chickens running around and cheeping.

Next we walked to where the chicken broilers were. It takes seven weeks from brooder to "finished" chicken. For that particular farm, chicken broilers are seasonal since they have them out in the pastures. The chickens finish at around four pounds. The shelters, covered by old billboards purchased on eBay, are moved once daily by two people. The billboards last approximately 4-5 years versus less than one year for a blue tarp. Each shelter holds 50 birds, with 1.5 square feet for each chicken.

Someone on the tour then asked why they weren't free range. Mr. Clark, the owner, said that this particular breed (Cornish Cross) didn't free range well, they would just hide under a tractor or whatever else they could find. Also, they have quite a few natural predators in the area. This pasture was surrounded by an electric fence, not so much to keep the chickens in, but to keep the raccoons out. The shelters they live in also help to protect them from hawk attacks.

The chickens are processed at another farm, Marksbury Farm. Mr. Clark said that Marksbury can process 800 birds per hour, much more efficiently than he could at his farm. The chickens go to local restaurants in Lexington, and also to restaurants in Louisville, Cincinnati, and Nashville. The vast majority of their chickens (approximately 12,000) went to Jefferson County Schools and fed two-thirds of the students ONE meal. 12,000 chickens. One meal.

There were also two shelters that contained young turkeys. Mr. Clark said that it takes 15 weeks from start to an 18 pound bird. Hello, Thanksgiving dinner.

Then on to the grass finished beef. Clark Family Farms has five birth farms already established and Mr. Clark visits each of those four to five times per year to ensure that the cows are being raised/fed to their standards. At this particular farm, they buy year old baby cows from other previously vetted farms. One year after that (when the cows are between 24 and 28 months of age), they are ready for slaughter. This is a year-round operation and the beef is processed at Marksbury Farm and the majority is sold at our local Whole Foods.

The cows are rotated to a different paddock once daily, and there is a 40 to 45 day rotation on the paddocks. Mr. Clark practices Joel Salatin's philosophy of farming. There is a symbiotic method of feeding. The cows are moved from pasture to pasture, and are followed by the chickens where they eat the bugs left behind on the cow droppings and fertilize the land with their own waste. I had read about this in The Omnivore's Dilemma and attempted to explain it to Mr. Making It Bright as "the chickens follow the cows and eat the bugs in their poop and poop to make the grass better for the cows that will come later." Very scientific... (at least for this liberal arts major).

Then we went on to see the layer hens (or "free range eggs"). Mr. Clark has roughly 1,000 laying hens right now. Their house is moved every three days with a tractor. The chickens lay 52 to 53 dozen eggs per day. It takes 16 to 20 weeks from chick to the first egg produced. I found it fascinating that they can't commingle new hens with old hens. There is an actual "pecking order" in which the old hens will peck the eggs of the new hens to break them. On their farm, they keep hens for a maximum of two years. After that point, the hens will eat more than they will produce in eggs. They sell them to people who want hens for meat or to keep around. For what, I'm not entirely sure. [I'll never be one of those to have a backyard coop. Chickens have always freaked me out. Those beaks and those feet... shudder.]

Egg production is starting to slow down as day length is getting shorter. The hens will be moved into what we think of as a typical chicken house and will be kept warm in there over the winter.

Then we saw the grass finished sheep. They are katahdin sheep, which naturally shed their wool (no extra farm work there). The meat produced by those sheep is tender. They lamb in April, approximately 1.5 lambs per mother, and the sheep are ready for market now at approximately 100-110 pounds. Not a terribly exciting part of the tour, in my opinion. They were too far off to see very well.

We finished the tour at the Egg Wash.

One of the foreign visitors asked why they even bothered washing the eggs. ICK. Mr. Clark informed her that, by law, the eggs have to be washed in order to be sold. So, good, no chicken ying yang juices at the grocery store...

Someone along the tour asked if the farm was certified organic. Mr. Clark responded that they were doing everything to be organic, just hadn't messed with the certification process. I think we've all learned that just because something is stamped "organic" doesn't necessarily make it superior. To me, it's just a form of vetting to help us narrow the overwhelming choices in our supermarkets.

I thoroughly enjoyed my farm tour and I cannot wait to tour more local farms. I would feel comfortable eating any of the animals/eggs from this farm after seeing the conditions in which they live and meeting the farmer.

But we can't do this with everything we eat. So it's back to trial and error and doing a "good enough" job at making reasonable food choices in a sea of confusing packages and labels.


(All opinions expressed are my own, and all information is as recorded on my iPhone while wrangling two kids and standing in the middle of a field.)

This Omnivore's Dilemma

Since I read The Omnivore's Dilemma earlier this year, I've been more concerned about our food. We've been mostly organic on produce and meat for the last 6 years (since before our daughter was born) but that didn't seem like enough. I'm not sure why it didn't feel like enough... I just felt like I should know more about where our food is coming from and how it is raised/grown.

[Disclosure: I like cooking for my family and knowing what is in our food, but by no stretch are we truly foodies, nor do I enjoy long, elaborate recipes. The 5 o'clock hour is witching hour for the kids. Some nights I'm lucky to throw leftovers on the table by 6 pm. I'm reminded of a quote from Homeward Bound by Emily Matchar. "It's easy to forget, in the face of today's foodie culture, that cooking is not fun when it's mandatory." Word.]

We even took the hippie dive and joined the local co-op. The ownership isn't pricey, but the food certainly is. I felt like we could make that work with finding deals on other things that we consume, but then we got some beef that had lots of "extra bits" in it and we were kicking ourselves for paying so much for beef that was nearly inedible. (The apparent result of sloppy butchering but nonetheless off-putting.) The produce is amazing, I'm still not sold on the meat. And it smells faintly like patchouli every time we walk in...

Last week I fell into a rabbit hole on the internet researching CSAs and local food and vegetable garden plans and the difference between grass fed and grass finished beef... Enough to make me crazy.

Then I saw a notice on Facebook about a local farm tour -- Follow the Food. A free event on a Saturday that would be educational for us and the kids. I'm in.


Stay tuned to read about our farm tour.

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Book It!

Anyone remember the Pizza Hut Book It program of the 80s and 90s? That solidified my love of reading breadsticks and personal pan pizzas.

Our kids (ages 5 and almost 3) love to read and we try to make time every night to read before bed. When our little lady was younger (and an only child), she got more daytime reading too. I'd like to get them to listen to me read aloud, eventually. They will listen to short audiobooks in the car. 

We love these two for the car. 

And these are some of my lady's current favorites.



And our little man (almost 3) picked these out from the library a few weeks ago and is pretty certain that we bought them when we checked them out. Same scanning and beeping as a store so I can see where it could be confusing. Guess I'll be renewing those for a while...



He picked these on his own from a low bin at the library. He's a market researcher's dream. Every one of those books is something he has seen on Netflix or in the toy aisle. Good or bad, kids are just little sponges. At least these books get him interested in reading.

At bedtime, we usually do one book of his choice and one book of her choice. Since they share a room, they get to hear both stories. Some nights we'll do just one-- mommy's pick. And some nights it'll just be lights out and songs, depending on how the evening went and how late it is.

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What are some of your kids' favorite books/series? How often do you read to them? Do you buy books or primarily use the library?