As if.....

I think I think to much...

Yes..it's true....even my husband has said it...and....

he is a man of few words!!!

I have a post planned and because I over think it/have way to much to do/am lazy.....

it just doesn't get done...maybe I should stick to shorter thoughts...or no thoughts....

maybe I can just post a short quip about what I am doing yesterday/today/tomorrow to live like I am/one day will get to live on my farm.....

and first things first....my family and I have been/are/will be eating a more natural diet.

Now I have to say we have been doing the basic cook from scratch for a long time...really the only thing we buy at the store that isn't...and of course loaded with sugar...is cereal. This is more or less a treat or when I just don't have time to make breakfast and they won't eat oatmeal, silly kids!

But over the last couple of months and more recently with the hospitalization of mctwin #1 for failure to thrive and severe iron deficiency..I increased my research (thank heavens for the internet!)  and discovered that many of the symptoms of sickness my darlings had were o so curable with a simple food diet.  We ...and I mean the whole family...will be eating the gaps diet.  I will let you go to the website and research it along with the blog from The Healthy Home Economist and determine for yourself what you think. 

For me it was an answer to a prayer and I think the mctwins and the whole family will become healthier...because we will be eating healthier food as well as eating more like our ancestors way back when. No thankfully the diet only calls for an absence period and not a total picketing of the  various foods forever.  But it will help us get back on track and more importantly eating more like we are on the farm.......

Tell me what you think.....or if you have heard anything or experienced anything good bad or terrible.  I am all ears!!!

And then my plan...is to let you know the daily rumblings of eating like we are almost on a farm.

Working on patience......

Random thoughts running through my head.....

I need a coke.....but shouldnt drink one.

Where did all this laundry come from...I just had it all caught up on Monday.

Better put in lunch money for my oldest...even though it isn't cool to eat lunch at school.

I wonder if he has thrown up yet.....he tried to play sick...but it has been going around this itty bitty house

I need a nap....

This itty bitty house was picked up last night, did I have more then seven kids in here this morning.

I need to schedule another family picture....because everyone is a year older then here...with braces of and contact in....

I really really  could use a coke.

Hurry up and blog, cuz its not happening after the mctwins wake up.

Do you think I could get away with eating another bowl of rice pudding....without raisins

what should I cook for dinner

I should go run/yoga/stretch/move while the mctwins sleep.......

Is there a pill out there that will just make me skinny...that won't damage my heart/liver/kidneys?

Wish I had a porch to rock on.....with a rocker....

I need to get the vacuum fixed...and return my sweet neighbors....

I need a good book to read...the one for the book club aint cuttin it...sorry Matt...it pretty much bites the big one....but read it I will...under protest....

Will I get pulled over today?

OH yeah, better get the sub registered...it is only expired by a like a month! 

eeehhhh....toilets better get cleaned today......

Do I have to be anywhere today?

Should I go to the football game on Saturday?  Or let my son take a date there.....

Is he really dating????  Am I that old?

I should get the mctwins blankets done...before they get married....and #1's denim quilt, I started when he was two....

Should I drive up the road an hour and pick up some beets to can and pickle?

Should I look for a house...or be content for another year while Mack is YM president?
 
I need to take the lap top in to be fixed.....and my camera....



Should I make the girls walk home from school?  It is only five miles...uphill...it will be good endurance training for their cross country....

That's mine with the white legs...it runs in the family....

And how the heck do I think I have time for an itty bitty farm?

I asked Mr. Macdaddy if I should give up my dream of moving to my little piece of heaven...because it just doesn't seem to be happening at the moment....or anytime soon...his reply....

"We all need dreams."

And dream it still is.....so I need to add to the above list.....learn to be patient with that which the good Lord has already blessed me with....

For some reason He has deemed me not ready/not worthy/yet to learn something more in my itty bitty house with seven not so itty bitty kids....at least I have three bathrooms! and running water!  My baby sister and I determined that patience and thanksgiving to what we already have is the key and that if so mastered, that which we have asked for will pale in comparison to what HE will give us.....when he is ready.....

So I better go work on that...........

lover yer guts!

signed, working on patience (seriously...I must have been in the talking line when that little gift was handed out!)

Respect your Elder...berries!

Good mor...er..afternoon.....

heck the post has been running around my mind since Friday....with a thousand other thoughts and after being able to;
get the soup on (that's right Mr Macdaddy...soup it is!) 
the sourdough bread rising
multiple piles of smelly, pukie laundry caught up
living room carpet shampooed because well.... a huge splotchy stain of you guessed it. ..was gracing the middle...
multiple noses wiped multiple times
puke buckets disposed of properly in the hazard waste sight
kids picked up...thank you friends and neighbors that did car pool duty for me this morning!
and teeth brushed...forget showering today..the minute I sneak one of those in...a whole new round of puking will commence...

I can sit down at the computer...for a second a spew (because that seems to be the popular thing around here right now!) some things I learned this weekend.

And as a side note....I only tell you the above list, because I know that you ladies do this and more every day and can feel my pain!

Now before things turned south, I had a wonderful Friday morning excursion with Mr Macdaddy up the canyon...berry picking...and it means exactly that!  We went just a few minutes from our house and picked two bucket loads of elderberries!!!  Once made into jelly....elderberry is the Cadillac among fellow fruity spreads!  Now before I was married...I had never heard of such a berry....and gasp... it was almost a deal breaker...for the marriage...you just don't have sour dough biscuits without elderberry jelly! Unheard of!!  Practically a sin!!!  It is now a staple in our refridg-or-ator!

And thank you to the internet I can Google about anything I want to and I discovered while looking for a recipe to make Elderberry Syrup, the very life saving benefits of this precious little treat of health! Just read this...

• The most important benefit of elderberry juice is its ability to prevent and cure illnesses related to the respiratory system like asthma, bronchitis, common cold, sore throat, cough and flu or influenza. It reduces mucus secretions and inflammation of the sinus and mucous membranes, and also helps drain the sinus of mucus, thereby reducing nasal congestion caused due to sinusitis.
• It has proved to be extremely effective in the treatment and cure of flu and was also used to treat people suffering from flu during an epidemic in Panama in 1995. Elderberry juice contains sambucus nigra agglutinins that protects healthy cells in the body from being infected by flu.
• The large amount of vitamins, especially vitamin C, that elderberry juice contains makes it very beneficial in the treatment of ailments caused due to viral and bacterial infections.
• Another very important benefit of elderberry juice is its ability to prevent and treat cancer, a fact attributed to the antioxidants that it contains. Elderberry juice contains bioflavonoids that are known to be the most effective antioxidants for the prevention of human cell damage.
• Elderberry juice boosts the immune system which can be quite helpful in treating diseases like AIDS and cancer.
• Elderberry juice is known to lower cholesterol levels and reduce bad cholesterol. This can be highly beneficial in preventing the various heart related disorders.
• Using elderberry juice for culinary purposes helps improve and maintain a healthy digestive system.
• The harmful effects of environmental pollution, stress, and unhealthy eating can be prevented and reduced by the daily consumption of elderberry juice.
• Elderberry juice concentrate benefits include prevention and cure of diabetes, protection against viral infections, and chest congestion. It has anti-viral, anti-histamine and anti-oxidant properties and its daily consumption can be very beneficial for overall well being.
• Consuming elderberry juice also helps prevent and cure hemorrhoids, constipation, and diarrhea. It also improves heart and kidney health, improves vision, cures yeast infections, and urinary tract infections.
• Consumption of elderberry juice on a regular basis helps clear complexion of blemishes and dark spots. It can delay the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines and helps reduce acne breakouts. Read more on juice fasting recipes.

Now  for  those that know Mr Mackdaddy's grandma and family...just why they were so dang beautiful!  It was all in the Eldeberry!!

So I juiced them all, made some jelly that we can't live without, but I also made some juice that we will be sipping on throughout the year...because I am all about preventing the little bout of catastrophe that has been goin on around here!

If you want more you can read about Elderberry juice here and here and it tastes good!!!! I don't know about you, but I would much rather drink elderberry juice then go get a shot in the arm.....that I don't trust....but that is just me!!

In making the juice, I have a steamer, that I wash and de-stem the berries from the branches (don't steam or cook or eat the leaves, branches or bark.....they can be poisonous!) and throw the berries in for about an hour...towards the end I pour hot water over the berries to get every last ounce of juice that I can..

After I have the juice you can then make it into jelly, syrup or juice.  To make my juice, I mixed it with honey...which is a very healthy remedy for colds and flu!  by about 4 to 1.  I had 16 cups of juice, and I added 4 cups of honey...you could also use blue aguave..with its own health benefits, or sugar!), I heated this to just below a boil, the filled glass bottles and processed in a water bath for 15 minutes!  It is good!!!  In some of the recipes they used equal amounts of sweetener to the juice...I like the more natural taste!

And it makes me feel domestic and like I have a little piece of the farm......which.....

It looks as if we will staying our pretty little booties, here in our condo...forever...maybe when my oldest marries in ten years..I can convince him to rent the place from us so we can move on....

but whatever the reason...I will blog about that tomorrow!

say what? 

Lover yer berry lovin guts!