I can’t believe it. I have four children. People are already asking me if we are “done”. Through my entire pregnancy I knew I definitely didn’t want more kids after this one. I would tell people it was “number last”. But surprisingly my answer is “probably”. My husband’s answer is a firm and very quick…
Project Simplicity: Minimizing Stuff to Maximize Life
As life becomes more complicated with kids and the homestead and responsibilities, I’m constantly asking myself, “how can I simplify my life?”. When life gets too complicated, I suffer and so does everyone in my life. I get angry and irritable too often and I feel like I’m not doing anything very well, including being…
The Many Adventures of Our Hens and Chicks
Mama hens hatching and raising a brood of chicks. What could more perfectly capture the dreamy homestead life? Reality check: Our last couple weeks of this picturesque life has involved exploding rotten eggs, dead chicks dangling from a mama hen as she runs around the coop, deformed chicks, drowning chicks, evil mama hens and countless…
15 Protein Boosted Recipes + Snacks
In our house we are constantly trying to add quality sources of protein to our kids’ meals. All of our kids are very active, but our oldest daughter is a competitive junior olympic gymnast at one of the top training centers in the world…which means she works her body like a professional athlete for up…
How We Homeschool
When it’s time to enroll kids in school- either for the first time or for the next school year- many parents start feeling a tug on their hearts to consider homeschooling. Parents consider homeschooling for a myriad of reasons. Whatever the reasons, the whole idea comes with excitement, fear, self empowerment, self doubt, a lot…
Spring 2018 Homestead Update
My first “real” winter taught me some major lessons. About life. About work. About reality. About myself. I didn’t like it. There, I said it. I bragged to my southern California friends before moving to the midwest that I was sure I’d be fine with the winter because I love drinking coffee and staying inside…
Death on the Farm
Though death is inevitable on a farm or homestead, it’s never easy. My mom always reminds me when I call her to let her know of another animal loss…”livestock is deadstock”. I was enjoying a lazy extra hour in bed and listened as my husband left the house to do the morning chores. I heard…
Authenticity: Our New Life
Ten years ago at this time I was in the throngs of the first trimester of my first pregnancy. I had just finished my final contract with WICKED, the musical, and was entering a program to become a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. I was a spoiled city girl with a highly successful career that came early…
Step #12 Learn HOW To Eat
Let’s move on with our final step…learning HOW to eat. If you think this post isn’t for you, give me a chance. I believe that most people, even those who know a lot about healthy eating, don’t quite understand how to eat properly. After years of practicing Nutritional Therapy, food blogging and obsessively feeding my growing family as “perfectly”…
Step #11 Stamina Training
“Cardio” is the common language in the fitness world, and for good reason. Cardiovascular fitness is the ability of the heart, blood cells and lungs to supply oxygen-rich blood to the working muscle tissues and the ability of the muscles to use oxygen to produce energy for movement. Cardio is important because it boosts blood flow…