Weekend Reading, May 7

My house is in need of a little a ton of TLC and we're taking the Murchlings for a picnic in the park this afternoon before the children from the home school co-op at our church have their Spring concert, so it's a busy (and fun!) day ahead. Since I'm strapped for time and there are so many great bloggers who wrote some excellent stuff this week, I'm going to leave you with some links to enjoy!

::For the Mother who fears Failure ~ Such a well-written and encouraging article that really hit the spot for this mama's heart.

::If Not Now, When? ~  An installment in Amy's "Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me?" series about knowing when to start a family. We became convinced before our wedding that, barring any major health issues for me, we'd just have as many little ones as the Lord would give us. Katie was 10 weeks old on our first anniversary, I was 10 weeks pregnant with Benjamin on our second anniversary, and we wouldn't change a thing! I have enjoyed reading the comments on this post.

::Thoughts on Natural & Modern Medicine ~ A great post by Myra that really resonates with me. In general, we try to avoid unnatural interventions, but I sure am thankful they're there when they're actually necessary!

::Zesty Mini Meatloaves ~ This recipe looks really yummy, and so simple!

What good reads have y'all found this week?

Have a happy Saturday!

Purex Complete with Zout: Review and Giveaway!

I recently became a member of Purex Insiders just in time to try out their new detergent, Purex Complete with Zout. Zout is an enzyme-based stain remover (similar to Shout gel).

I was pretty excited when the bottle came in the mail, and have been really pleased with the product. I pour the amount I'm going to use for the load in the lid and use it to pre-treat some of the more messy stains (we have plenty of those with an active two-year old around!), and then pour the rest in the washer.

This has successfully removed several pretty bad stains, including chocolate from a white shirt and a big splotch of red ink from one of my favorite skirts. I'd say those are pretty good results! Purex Complete with Zout comes in a scented version as well as a free and clear, which is our preference, and it also works in regular washing machines and HE machines as well.

Purex has generously sent me two FREE product coupons to give away to two of y'all! To enter, just leave a comment on this post. For additional entries, you can share this giveaway on twitter or your blog. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. The giveaway will be open until Wednesday of next week (May 11).

This post is linked to Things I Love Thursday.

Homemade Yogurt

I have been saying for months that I wanted to start making my own yogurt. As I've mentioned int he past, we eat fruit and yogurt smoothies just about every day. Yogurt is not cheap (unless I can find it reduced for quick sale or combine sales and coupons), and we prefer to use whole milk yogurt for the health benefits of good ol' animal fat for Katie and us grown-ups, too. At our grocery store, the only whole milk yogurt they carry is Stoneyfield Farms Organic. So delicious, but I've been spending $10+ on yogurt every week. Yikes!

Making my own, I can buy local (though not raw like I'd prefer) hormone and antibiotic free, partly pasture-raised, non-homogenized whole milk at $2.99 for half a gallon and make two quarts of yogurt for less than what I pay for one quart of organic whole milk yogurt. And, it's really hardly any work at all (which is really good for this busy mama). To prove how easy it is, I wanted to show y'all how I've been doing it. I initially tried a crock pot method and it was a flop, so I tried the  method in Nourishing Traditions and I've made it several times with great success. The pull on the spoon when I stir the finished product makes my heart flutter. ha!

First, preheat the oven to "warm". Then, gently heat a quart of milk to 180*. Remove it from heat and pour into a shallow container (glass, stainless steel, ceramic). Cool to 110*. Whisk in half a cup of good quality, live active culture plain yogurt. Cover and place in the oven and turn it off. Leave it alone for 8 hours.

Voila! It's thinner than store bought yogurt, but it does firm up some once it cools in the fridge.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Kroger deals for this week

Hey y'all. I went to Kroger yesterday and spent $50 and saved $59. That's always fun! I didn't get any pictures because when we got home both kids were grouchy and Benjamin needed nursing, so I just rushed around.

They are running one of the "Mega Events" where, if you buy 10 participating items, you get an extra $5 off. Combining that sale with coupons, there were a couple of particularly great deals I wanted to tell you about.

::Free plus overage pasta (again)! Ronzoni Healthy Harvest and Smart Taste pastas are $0.49 after the sale. I was able to re-print the $1/2 Ronzoni pasta coupons from my computer and got 8 more boxes of pasta for free. That makes 24 free boxes of pasta in the past couple months!

::You can get Mom's Best Naturals cereal for $0.24 when you combine the sale with this $0.75/1 coupon. I have printed this coupon twice in the past, but was able to print two more times.

We usually eat pasta about once a week and Ben likes to have cereal on hand all the time for early morning and late night snacking (that man has a crazy metabolism!), so these were great opportunities to stock up. The Smart Taste pasta is white, and I normally don't do any white pasta ever, but since they paid me $0.01 to take it out of the store, I figure a couple times a month it probably won't kill us. ;)

Did you get any great deals at the store this week?

Benjamin, 4 Months

Another month has come and gone and my little man is already four months old! One third of a year already--at least in my experience, time goes by so much faster after having children. I can recall days prior to motherhood that seemed to just drag on, and I even have {vague} memories of saying, "I'm SO bored." Never again. ha!

Anyway, Benjamin is growing really fast, weighing in at a whopping 19 pounds a couple weeks ago when I weighed him. How crazy is that? He's going to outgrow his infant carrier soon at the rate he's going! Katie didn't switch to her convertible car seat until after her first birthday. Don't ask what I'm feeding him--he's eating the same good mama's milk his sister got! :)

For some other four month details:

::He nurses every 3 to 4 hours during the day and has finally started sleeping 5-6 hours consistently at night. I put him down around 8, nurse him at 10:30 or so (whenever I'm ready to go to bed) and he wakes up between 5 and 6 to eat, and then sleeps another couple hours.

::He slept in a SwaddleMe until Saturday, when I found him wailing in his bed because he had rolled over in it, had his face planted in the mattress and couldn't move because his arms were in the swaddle.

::Pretty much any time I lay him down on his back on his play mat, he rolls to his tummy. Usually he's not very happy to be on his tummy once he gets there, but he hasn't figured out how to roll back over yet.

::Benjamin is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes, though he is beginning to outgrow some of those and is wearing some 6-9 month clothes already. We're still using almost exclusively cloth diapers, but when he does wear a disposable, he's in size 2.

Benjamin is such a delightful little guy. He's usually all smiles and adds so much joy to our family. He loves his daddy and his big sister, but for now, he's definitely more of a mama's boy and he loves to snuggle and be talked to. If he gets over-tired or really hungry he cries, but other than that he's almost always content.

And because she's so precious, here's a picture of my sweet Katie girl from Easter Sunday.

Menu Plan, May 2-8

I've implemented a few changes in our diet over the past couple weeks that I'm really excited about. The first is homemade yogurt, which I'll share more about later this week! I've also made it a goal to serve fish at least once per week. I suspect this will usually occur in the form of canned (wild, Alaskan) salmon made into patties and fried, though any other recommendations for serving canned salmon would be appreciated! I never come across great deals on wild-caught fish around here, but if I do, I will experiment some. I have never been much of a fish person, but I want my family to have all the benefits fish offers. Something else I've been trying to do is soak our grains (I've only done oats so far, but I'm hoping to eventually branch out). Do any of y'all soak your family's grains?

Anyway, here's what we're planning to eat this week. What are y'all fixing?

Breakfasts:
Apple baked oatmeal (I plan to soak the oats in a half yogurt, half water mixture overnight) bacon (nitrate free), and eggs (x3)
Toast with cream cheese, fried eggs (x2)
Fluffy banana oat pancakes, scrambed eggs (x2)

Lunches:
Rice and bean burritos (x3)
Smoothies with peanut butter toast (x2)
Leftovers/snacks (x2)

Dinners:
Monday~ Italian cream cheese chicken casserole, salad
Tuesday~ leftovers
Wednesday~ Chili
Thursday~ leftovers
Friday~ Salmon patties, seasoned potato wedges, green beans
Saturday~ Homemade pizza (with nitrate/nitrite/anti-biotic free pepperoni), salad
Sunday~ at the farm with my in-laws

For more menu plans, head over to OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!

My sin, not in part, but the whole

One morning last week I was in a bad mood. When I began my morning chores, I turned on some hymns, knowing their attitude-adjusting effects. As I listened to It Is Well With My Soul, I got teary-eyed as goosebumps spread up my arms, particularly during the third stanza. My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! 

It really is a glorious thought. The Mighty King of kings has born the entirety of my sin on the cross, and I no longer bear the overwhelming, soul-damning weight of its burden. Because of His atoning grace, it truly is well with my soul no matter what trials this life will bring.

 When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!

Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain