Punctuated with, "Really?" and "Yeah, that's a good one!"

Mama: "What would you want to name our new baby when we have one?"
Truen: "Mmmmm...Joey!"
Diego: "Colorado!"
Truen: "Puppy Dog!"
Diego: "No, I know what we can name her - Pretty Piggy."
Truen: "Baby Teebo!"
Diego: "No wait, you haven't heard this one before - Pretty Penny!"

p.s. NOT PREGNANT

For the record

I quit reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
I just couldn't hack it anymore.

One of my letters to the editor

I will be very curious to hear the medical lobbyist’s arguments against the Midwife and Birth Center bills in the Health and Human Services committee hearing this year – SB107 and HB1183.

Last year, a medical lobbyist used a hospital-based statistic to “prove” why babies should be born in the hospital, not at home. His misuse of statistical data was downright deceptive, saying that over 25% of all babies born have “serious birthing complications”.

I beg to differ. If he were shedding light on hospital-based statistics in the US, and thus, why many women are choosing homebirths, he would have been more on target.

The truth of the matter is that the national c-section rate is over 30% and climbing; but Certified Professional Midwives, the midwives who specialize in homebirth, have a c-section rate of 3.7%. To help put these numbers in perspective, the optimal c-section rate recommended by the World Health Organization is 5-10%.

It is a moot point to apply the 25% “serious birthing complications”, a.k.a. - the 30% national c-section rate - to Certified Professional Midwives. Any individual can do the math and see that for a normal, low-risk pregnancy, a midwife-attended homebirth is actually the safer choice under current conditions.

My hope is that the legislators on the HHS committee will have done their homework and worked hard to see the truth vs. shady half-truths and slanderous misconceptions that the medical lobby would like them to believe.

Not everyone wants to have a homebirth, and that is okay; but South Dakota deserves access to Certified Professional Midwives.

Can't. stop. dancing.

World Invaders by Pluton and the Humanoids

This song is at the tippity-top of the charts of what makes me want to get down and boogie. Seriously. I cannot stop.

I love two year olds

Seriously, I think I might be crazy about them. They're so funny, adorable, loving, and hardly have any morning breath at all.

Especially my little Pumpkin . . . how can he be so cute?!

As he we snuggled down into sleep last night, I heard him whisper-singing, "No more monkeys jumping in the bed!" and "Twinkle-twinkle yittle starw". He has also been singing, "And one for the yittle boy who yives dow-n the yane" and, my favorite, "Pop! goes the wea-soh".

I could just eat him up. And I do -- then he yells, "Kisses are yucky!" and tries to wipe them off his face, smiling and giggling all the while. Then I have to smooch him more. ♥

Certified Professional Midwives

It's that time of year again . . . South Dakota's legislative season. This little beauty was created by for Massachusetts folk by two Massachusetts groups advocating midwifery. (They have legislation going forward this year as well.)

The twelve minutes are well worth your time. This video is extremely well-done; it provides an astute and concise synopsis of the medical model of birth in the US today and why we need midwives.

EDITED to say: Unfortunately, this vid was pulled off YouTube the very next day. Saaaaaad. It was so good.

As far as access to Certified Professional Midwives across the nation goes, here is the state-by-state break-down, with thanks to the national organizing force, The Big Push for Midwives.

In South Dakota this year, instead of a CPM licensure bill, midwifery advocates will be introducing a decriminalization bill. The idea is that in these tough economic times, a licensure bill wouldn't have a chance - but that a bill allowing Certified Professional Midwives to practice without fear of prosecution and jail-time* is better suited.

*Think that's nuts? Me too. And it's true... My midwife is a South Dakotan and has served jail time. That was before she moved her practice across the state border to MN; now she serves her SD clients across the border at Safe Houses.

Like a little chipmunk

An increasing trend from the last few weeks --

***

Truen: "Mama . . . Mama . . . Mama . . ."
Mama: "Yes?"
Truen (grinning): "Gumbawlths!"

***

Truen: "Mama . . . Mama . . ! "
Mama: "Yeah...?"
Truen (eyes shining): "Gumbawlths!"

***

Truen: "Mama . . . Mama . . . Mama . . ."
Mama: "Yeahhhhh?"
Truen (happily): "Gumbawlths!"
Mama: "Ohhhhhh, are you thinking about gumballs?"
Truen: "Yeah! They'rrrrrew taaaaaathsty!"

***

This little guy is obsessed.

Howling

AhhhhhwoooooooOOO!!!

I've been slogging through A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for an entire month now and I don't know how much more I can take. On one hand, it has given me a variety of ideas to contemplate (poverty, cruelty); but for the most part, I simply dread picking it up each and every time, to go through more of the drudgery of nothing happening, ever. It just drones on and on and on.

(I'm going to stick with it, though. I will see this book through, if it takes me forever and a day!)

Blah.

I also just finished reading The Secret Garden aloud to Diego. We both enjoyed the book until the middle-end when it became a tedious job just to get through. It went on and on and on; reading it aloud became a tongue-twister with the seemingly endless sentences and the verbal jumping-jacks required by the almost constant conversation in the "broad Yorkshire" dialect. It was enough to do me in!

And this was one of my favorite books from childhood...

Diego liked it, though; and even when his attention went a little hazy, he would ask questions or make comments that made me realize he was sticking with me. And so I lumbered on. And on. And on. And on and on and on.

I'm having a bit of a depression in my zest and enjoyment for reading. It's mind-numbing. I feel like my head is concave.

But just one look at this and my brain melts back into a malleable unit. I love these little fellers.

My little boys . . . such good daddies to their baby Ewoks

IGNORANCE IS BLISS

Because the truth will change your eating habits.

Two articles, check it:

The first, from the NY Times, an article about the processing of fatty beef trimmings, once used for pet food, which are now used in fast food restaurants and the school lunch system -- treated with ammonia.

The second, an eco-mag called Grist offers public commentary for the layman, the running column so appropriately entitled, "The Cheapskate's Dilemma".

In the end,
Eat real, whole, unadulterated food and cultivate wellness.

Stream of Connie

I'm going to spit out my thoughts in list form, as I have no time for anything more thorough.

• After 12, no . . . 14?! Oh man. After 14 years living in the Midwest, I have finally come to appreciate the snowy winter months. I am absolutely relishing it this year, in fact.
• This might have something to do getting to be home all the time; or perhaps living rurally, where the snow actually stays white and looks pretty.
• I was always so disheartened by how dirty the snow was in the city. And the salty-filth covered cars and buses. Disgusting.
• But I think the biggest influence is living seasonally, in rhythm with our garden. Winter is a time for rest and relaxation, not working outside until it gets dark at 10:00 PM, eating the evening meal, and then collapsing into bed.
• Though I think a lot of our warm-weather labor is due to "setting up shop" with young children and half-of-the-whole being gone 50 hours a week vs. slavery to a garden patch. We have a lot going on over here!
• Writing in list-form is very lazy. I see that . . . as I could be developing all this into much more interesting and fleshed-out thoughts.
• But for a Mama with less than an hour to herself each day, if I'm lucky, this is gonna hafta' do!
• I felt myself becoming semi-unavailable today. It was like my mind was shutting my little guys out; I just needed a break and some distance. Thankfully, they played very well by themselves while I was one-room-over.
• And then I found a book shoved into the VCR. (Hee! I'm pretty sure Diego was pretending he was the mama and taking care of little Truen. I heard him say something like, "And now I am going to play a movie for you!")
• Yes, we do have a VCR. We use it, too. When our old one conked out, Squeeze's dad tracked us down a used one because 1) ours couldn't be repaired, and 2) VCRs alone aren't sold anymore.
• I have found some wonderful VHS tapes at thrift stores -the old 1980's cartoon of Charlotte's Web and Raymond Brigg's The Snowman being the best of the best.
• We don't have a record player, but purchasing a Hi-Fi is on our agenda. Same idea: think of all the wonderful children's records we could get for 25 cents!
• Both Squeeze and I have fondness in our memories for watching records spin. There is just something so intriguing about sound coming out of a needle placed on a giant revolving disc with lines scritched into it.
• Speaking of memory: Diego's new thing is to ask us to tell him stories about "when we were a little girl and boy" every single night as we are snuggling down into sleep. The light goes off, and he's on it: requesting demandingly, "Okay, tell me a story!"
• It has been fun to recall various aspects of our youth -- and also very enlightening. I have been learning new insights into Squeeze's life and who he is and was. I love him all the more, just thinking about him as a little boy. He spent so much time by himself, inventing games and stories.
• Of our boys, Truen is the one who can handle being on his own. He enjoys it, and will even play little ditties on his own while all of us are, say, snuggling in bed or sitting on the couch talking.
• I don't think Diego has ever chosen to be alone longer than the books he was drawn into lasted, or the bursts of creative play that come right after breakfast or when we get home after being out.
• Sound familiar, anyone?!

2009 Booklist: Completed

• The Boxcar Children - Gertrude Chandler Warner (Read Aloud)
• The Family Under the Bridge - Natalie Savage Carlson (Read Aloud)
• The Complete Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
• Crocodile Gene and His Friends - Eduard Uspenski (Read Aloud)
• The Orchard: A Memoir - Adele Crockett Robertson
• Charlotte's Web - E.B. White (Read Aloud)
• The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements - Sandor Ellix Katz
• Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life - Pamela Smith Hill
• Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get It Back - Ann Vileisis
• By the Shores of Silver Lake - Laura Ingalls Wilder (Read Aloud)
• The More With Less Cookbook - Doris Janzen Longacre
• Birth Order and You: How Your Sex and Position in the Family Afftects Your Personality and Relationships - Richardson & Richardson
• Garden of Eating: A Produce-dominated Diet and Cookbook - Rachel Albert-Matesz and Don Matesz
• On the Banks of Plum Creek - Laura Ingalls Wilder (Read Aloud)
• Farmer Boy - Laura Ingalls Wilder (Read Aloud)
• Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis - Kim Todd
• Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder (Read Aloud)
• The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices - Xinran
• Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods - Sandor Ellix Katz
• Little House in the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder (Read Aloud)
• Fundamentals of Homeschooling: Notes on Successful Family Living - Ann Lahrson-Fisher
• The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections - Amanda Blake Soule
• Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three - Paula Polk Lillard, Lynn Lillard Jessen
• Skinny Bitch - Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin
• Real Food: What to Eat and Why - Nina Planck
• Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India - Madhur Jaffrey
• Food is Your Best Medicine - Harvey Bieler, MD
• Dr. Jensen's Better Bowel Care: A Complete Program for Tissue Cleansing through Bowel Management - Bernard Jensen
• French Women Don't Get Fat - Mireille Guiliano
• Your Vital Child: The Ultimate Resource for Using Food, Vitamins, Herbs, and Other Natural Methods to Make Your Children the Healthiest They Can Be - Mark and Angela Stengler, N.D.s
• The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling - Rachel Gathercole
• Riding Shotgun: Women Write About Their Mothers - Edited by Kathryn Kysar
• Allergy and Candida Cooking: Understanding and Implementing Plans for Healing - Sondra Lewis
• Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence - David Keirsey
• Books That Build Character: A Guide to Teaching Your Child Moral Values Through Stories - Kilpatrick, Wolfe, Wolfe
• What is the What? - Dave Eggers
• The Self-sufficient Life and How To Live It: The Complete Back-to-basics Guide - John Seymour
• The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth - Bill Holm
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
• No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies - Naomi Klein
• The Contrary Farmer - Gene Logsdon

Blizzardy

Our frosted mailbox

the day before Christmas Eve

We have been out of commission this past week due to some nasty malware. During this time we were snowed in for four days over Christmas (it was lovely), enjoyed our four-day mini-vacation, and happily bunkered down during the frigid snowy-blowy days.

Happy New Year, or as the Swedes say, GOTT NYTT ÅR!

And then I ran quickly for a pen

Diego said the funniest thing this afternoon. His eyes were wide and his voice full of wonder; I could tell he was really pondering the conundrum as it came out.

"Is my body magic . . . ? Because . . . . . . .
. . . . . How does my body make a poop?!"

I dropped everything and scrambled for my daybook, wrote the quote down exactly because I always forget the precise wording, which is so crucial, then proceeded to explain as best I could, from chewing right on down to the colon. (It was brief, mind you.)

Without missing a beat, he immediately responded, "Oh" and then, "Now let's read The Secret Garden!"

And so we did. He is just wild about it, loving the mystery and intrigue. We just started today and read while Truen napped; unbelievably, we got to page 62 before Squeeze got home from work.

Sixty-two pages! He just kept on asking for more, and I obliged. (I enjoyed every single minute of it, too - The Secret Garden is a favorite from childhood.)

I think I'm growing a book lover . . . eeeeek! How exciting!

Scrum-diddley

I have two recipes to share with you this evening, both of which my family has been enjoying thoroughly. They're out of my most favorite cookbook, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

By the by, the cabbage recipe is for you, Ash. I expect a full report once you've tried it, what you think, how you like it, etc. And that's an order!


GINGERED CABBAGE

• 2 TBSP butter (I use lard)
• 1 head cabbage, about 1 1/2 lbs, cored and chopped
• 1 TBSP minced garlic
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 TBSP peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger
• Juice of 1 lime (I just splash it in from the bottle . . . not fresh, I know)

- Place the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat (a 12 inch cast-iron pan is perfect for this, but go w/ medium heat instead). When the butter melts, add the cabbage. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes.

- When the cabbage is limp but not mushy, add the garlic, salt & pepper, and cook another 2 minutes, stirring.

- Add the ginger and cook another minute. Drizzle with the lime juice and serve.

Yo! Delicious. It is especially fabulous with fried eggs for breakfast, but would be a good side in just about any meal. Out of the boys, little Truen especially enjoys it. "Mo' cabbisge," he says. Diego eats it, but with a lot of complaining about how he hates cabbage beforehand.

EGG NOG

• 5-6 eggs at room temp., separated
• 2 TBSP maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 cups milk or cream or combination thereof
• 1/2 cup rum (optional)
• Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

- Beat the yolks with the maple syrup until well blended. Stir in the vanilla and the milk and rum if desired

- Beat the egg whites and fold them in thoroughly. (You need not be too gentle; they should lighten the drink but not be discernable.) Top with grated nutmeg and serve.

This recipe is adapted from the original in the cookbook, because 1) I don't use refined sugar, and 2) I found that I like my egg nog much thicker ----> thus, more eggs.

We have the good fortune of having eggs from our own chickens, so I have no qualms about consuming them raw. I would feel the same freedom if I was buying eggs from a small farm/farmer/co-op. The milk I use is also full-fat and raw, that is, unpasteurized - so delicious.

A friend who was here last week said, "This tastes like a custard smoothie!" Yes, indeed. One could argue is that is the perfect tide-over snack or finish-'em-off dessert, full of all that good fat and protein. And sa-weet.

------------------------------------------------------------

I would also like to comment here: I have talked about my old-fashioned hand-mixer before, the one we got from our old neighbor in Minneapolis, Wilburn. But I just have to exclaim about it again. I can't resist . . . I adore it for more than its beauty and intrigue.

It is so easy to use! I like it better than an electric mixer! It is easier to clean! It's fun! Kids like it! It is as quick as a flash, with no assembly required! I recommend it to anyone -- pick one up the next time you're at a thrift store!

Seriously, it's the best. I'm starting to get a little suspicious about all this electric stuff. Ultimately, it seems so unnecessary . . . just . . . superfluous. Like electric can openers . . . really??? Really.

(Whew . . . got that outta my system . . .)

And it's hard to hold a candle / In the cold November rain . . .

November Rain came on iTunes this evening . . . and honestly . . . I felt like I was 15 years old again. Isn't it amazing how a song (or any sound, really, or a scent or conversation) can transport you back in time?

My first-and-only "slow-dance" of my teenage years was to November Rain at the Homecoming dance my freshmen year of highschool. All nine miserable minutes and twelve exrutiating seconds of it. That was the same Homecoming where I hid in a side-room to avoid being tailed by another boy who I knew was going to ask me to slow-dance. (I was so scared . . . I just couldn't handle things like that at that point in my life.)

And I didn't return to another school dance until the middle of my junior year when I couldn't resist the fun anymore. I dealt with the slow-dancing dilemma by running around and pinching butts or snapping bras during the slow songs. I'm sure people looooooved me.

Another big song at that point in my life was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. And you know it was all the grandeuer and drama that pulled me in . . .

Getting over the fear of fever

I ran into this great article today, put out there by the Canadian organization Vaccination Risk Awareness Network.

I myself was fearful of fever when Diego was a baby, mostly because I was frightened that it would get "too high" and cause brain damage or kill him. Ultimately, I didn't really understand its purpose. And, honestly, out of pure inexperience, I was heavily influenced by conventional "wisdom". (I am so thankful to have broken out of that mold . . .)

Just like labor, let's work with our body instead of against it. Fever has a purpose. Fever is our friend.

Check it:

As loving and caring parents, we naturally want to help our children feel better when the inevitable fevers, flus, colds and various illnesses arise in childhood. Many will reach for popular over-the-counter remedies to suppress fever and alleviate symptoms in the belief that these products are reliable, effective, and safe. But how safe are they really? And what are the risks when fever is suppressed and symptoms masked? Does fever have a critical function in fighting sickness that we have lost sight of?

There is plenty of scientific evidence validating the benefits of fever in fighting viral/bacterial inflammations and it’s important role in the healing process. Fever increases survival rate during infectious diseases – basic information that has yet to reach the majority of people who remain misinformed and misled by pharmaceutical and medical propaganda which still shamelessly advocates the use of antipyretic drugs at the first sign of fever. The myth that untreated fevers will lead to seizures and brain damage is perpetuated ad nauseum. Fever is maligned, misunderstood and seen as an enemy to be feared rather than an ally that signals the immune system gearing up for action.

Mini-list

• It's official: my favorite vegetable is cabbage. So versatile, so delicious. I could eat it every day, in every way. (I probably do.)
• The days here have been in the negative digits and wonderfully sunny. I had forgotten what a lovely place our sunroom is in the winter months. I keep the heat at 60 F during the day, but bask in the mid-70's in mid-afternoon in sunroom. De-lightful.
• I made egg nog for a mama-and-kiddie Christmas party we had at our house yesterday afternoon. For the record, I like more eggs than milk; the thicker the drink, the better. Yo, it is so tasty. And I'm still trying to avoid dairy . . . oh dear.
• I ironed a tablecloth for the said Christmas party yesterday. We were recipients of Squeeze's grandma's old wooden ironing board this past year. Before that, we were sufficing (or not, because we NEVER iron) with a rinky-dink tabletop version that a roommate in college left behind one year. So, honestly, with this big, beautiful old-fashioned wooden ironing board, with an old-fashioned fabric-cord iron, I ironed the tablecloth in bliss, realizing that I may, in fact, really enjoy ironing. There was just something about the heat, the hiss of the steam, and watching the wrinkles disappear. I really enjoyed it. Seriously.

What?! Saturday again???

Seriously, I don't know where the time goes. I thought I just posted!

Today we are having a cozy day at home. It is delightful. Squeeze put up the wooden snow fence along our driveway. The wind whips any plowing obsolete within hours or, if we're lucky, days; so it will be very nice to not have to worry about that this year. Two years into this gig . . . we've finally learned.

I finished Persepolis this morning while Truen snoozed on my booz [bosom]. Wow . . . what a book . . . what an inside into the life of a child and her family during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. I found it to be very thought-provoking and moving. This was also my first graphic novel; I wasn't sure what to expect, but the story in this genre proved to be very compelling.

Now we are decorating for Christmas. The boys are bouncing merrily off the walls. And I am going to make real egg nog. Nummmmmmm . . .

No joke

When I was a kid I used to wonder if we were all cartoons and if we were, why couldn't I see the lines around my body?

Knock-your-socks-off cornbread

We have been enjoying the most delicious cornbread EVER. Baked in a cast-iron skillet, the texture is scrumptiously crumbly, and the flavor is more similar to roasted corn vs. the cake-like or, conversely, hard-as-a-rock "essence of cornbread" that I am used to. It is divine! We have been groaning in delight about it for days.

The recipe is a "little more work" than the average cornbread recipe, but mostly in the fact that one has to plan ahead. But since that is the direction I am moving within the realm of the kitchen, it doesn't phase me. I am actually beginning to think it is easier.

It involves soaking the cornmeal in [pickling] lime water for 7 hours -- the flour in buttermilk or yogurt for 24 hours. Other than that, no different. Not more work, just a different approach to food preparation -- one that I am growing to love.

Soaking cornmeal with lime is a traditional practice, one that releases the full spectrum of B-vitamins; and arguably, fuller flavor as well. Soaking flour dissolves the phytic acid, rendering it more digestible, unlocks the full nutritional qualities, and adds to the light-fluffiness of a baked good. (Baking powder is unneccessary, thank you ma'am!)

Before making the recipe, one has to make the lime water.

LIME WATER

• 1 quart canning jar
• 1/2 inch pickling lime
• Filtered water to the top
• Shake jar
• Let sit overnight
• The resultant clear liquid is your lime water
• Pour carefully when using
• Store at a semi-cool temp

Pickling lime is caustic, so handle carefully.

Once that is taken care of, you're good to go. Even better, instead of mixing up a batch 3 days before making a pan of cornbread, simply keep a jar of lime water on hand. That way, planning can take place a mere 1 day prior to the actual meal vs. several days.

[hee-hee . . . I realize how utterly outrageous that sounds to someone who isn't used to cooking this way . . . it must seem so looney]

The recipe is adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Truly, this cookbook has been a radical influence on my understanding of food: as nourishment vs. hunger-filler, traditional ways of preparation, vital nutritional fats, etc. It has given me a sense of direction, not to mention form and substance, to my whole foods gut instinct. (Which is, basically, "If it doesn't occur in nature, or you can't create it in your own kitchen, don't eat it.") And because traditional diets are based on seasonal and local food resources, this is emphasized throughout the book. I really appreciate that.

CORN BREAD

• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups lime water
• 1/2 cup spelt flour*
• 1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup melted butter

~ Stir in flour and buttermilk or yogurt and let stand in a warm place for 24 hours. (Those will milk allergies may use 1 1/2 cups water plus 2 TBSP whey, lemon juice or vinegar in place of undiluted buttermilk or yogurt.)

~ Soak cornmeal in lime water for approx. 7 hours.

~ When it comes time to make your cornbread, blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into a buttered and floured 9X13 inch pyrex pan (or even better . . . a 12 inch cast-iron skillet). Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. (FYI: it cooks much quicker in cast-iron)

ENJOY!

*The recipe calls for 1/2 cup spelt/wheat/kamut flour and 1/2 cup unbleached white flour, but I accidentally used only the 1/2 cup spelt/whole wheat twice and LOVED the way it turned out.