To cool or not to cool?

We gather eggs everyday. The children bring them in, I wash them, place them in an egg container, and straight to the frige they go. I try to keep the containers dated so we know how old the egg is that I am feeding my family. As a responsible American mom, I try to take sterile care in matters of food.

Recently, while watching Downton Abbey (my obsession de jour), I caught a glimpse of the kitchen during an episode with Daisy and Mrs. Patmore preparing breakfast. In the frame, I noticed that in the center of the island, they have an egg keeper. Eggs, out in the open, room temperature. Granted, this period program is set in the early 1900's. Still, the image caused me to explore the necessity of egg refrigeration.

In the US, most of us buy refrigerated, store bought eggs. We naturally assume that eggs are supposed to be refrigerated. However, in most countries around the world, it is very common - even today, to purchase unrefrigerated eggs at the grocery.

I asked my Columbian friend about her eggsperience growing up in Columbia.

Well maybe it is fine for people in other countries to leave their eggs room temp. But this is AMEEERca. The USDA describes our American egg processing in detail. This grading manual offers us more than we ever wanted to know about the eggs we purchase from the grocery.

But wait, eggs sold at The Farmers Market are often sold unrefrigerated. So what's the deal?

There is a forum I frequent over at backyardchickens.com. Many yard bird aficionados agree that it is not necessary to refrigerate eggs. To clarify - farm to table eggs. One farmer said he actually leaves the eggs out on the counter for a month before packaging them and putting them in the fridge! Many contend that the reason the process set forth by USDA, requires egg refrigeration, is because the washing/sterilization of the egg damages the cuticle, a protective mucoprotein layer on the egg shell which keeps out contaminating micro-organisms and bacteria.

This whole process led me to an experiment.
Two weeks ago, I gathered eggs for two days. I have left these eggs on my kitchen countertop.

Yesterday and today, I have cooked and eaten the room temp eggs.

Captains log:
Cooked unrefrigerated eggs at 11:15am, June 28th 2013, and again at 9am, June 29th 2013. If I were to contract salmonella, it would show up within 12-72 hours after infection. It would last from 4-7 days.










I have not yet fed the eggs to my children, and certainly not my husband, who won't even eat the refrigerated ones after a week. Little does he know that store bought eggs are often a month old by the time they get to the shelf!

For now, I will continue testing this theory on myself. A royal food taster, so to speak. I will update in a week or so, assuming I am still alive.

Give me a commercial break!

One of my parenting goals, is to raise my children under an umbrella of gender equality. I want my sons to grow up in a world where women and men conduct themselves with mutuality and respect. I want my daughter to understand that she can strive for anything she dreams up - even if she does not have a penis. I have been intentional about the toys they play with and the content of the movies and TV shows they watch. I stand guard against anything that sexually objectifies women. I steer clear of shows that portray women as helpless or weak.

The children and I watch Netflix mostly, and they see lots of adventure shows and documentaries, as well as animated action and fantasy. I love Netflix, because we enjoy a commercial-free viewing experience. There are a few TV shows however, that I watch on Hulu: Modern Family, CSI, Nikita, and Survivor (which the children and I watch together). I understand that paid advertisements are what allow me to have the free HULU service, I appreciate that. But last night alone, I witnessed over and over, commercials in which women were powerless and dependent.

These two specifically, make my skin crawl.

In this AXE commercial, the runner throws a race because a guy says, "hey."


In this car commercial, the driver fantasizes about all the sexy women who will pine for him if he drives an Acura.


The third one I saw repeatedly is not quite as offensive, but I'm curious why Verizon chose the "Guy rescues technologically exasperated, pretty girl" angle. It's what sells, I suppose.


So many other titillating commercials to choose from (not necessarily that I have seen on Hulu - but various screen shots that accentuate my point).


I am aware that there are so many human rights issues to combat. This one just seems to hit me in square in the face day after day as I guide my children. Are you a parent? Have you had similar experiences? What are some ways you deal with it?

Best Laundry Detergent EVER!

When we moved to Alabama 2 years ago, my washer/dryer relocated to the basement. Because of the humidity, I have had a difficult time keeping my laundry from smelling musty. I have tried so many different products (homemade and store bought)!
Finally, I have settled on this THREE INGREDIENT DETERGENT.

1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1 bar grated Fels Naptha laundry soap

I use 1/3 of a cup per each load, which is probably over-kill, but my laundry smells amazing. Actually, there is hardly any smell at all. My husband used it for the first time on his laundry last week. I was curious what his opinion would be because he is very sensitive to smell. He called me downstairs and over to his hanging shirts. "Smell this and tell me what you smell...." As I leaned in to take a wiff, he exclaimed, "NOTHING! You smell Nothing! This stuff is so awesome!"

At last, I have a simple to make, HE, phosphate free detergent that really gets the laundry clean and deodorized. And the best part about it, is that it literally costs PENNIES per load.

A shout out to diynatural.com, where I found this recipe.

Date your eggs!

I don't know about your chickens, but mine have been laying like crazy this summer. I actually sold 7 hens because I was getting over-run with eggs! It's a great problem to have. And I enjoy dispersing dozens among friends.

When the eggs are coming in faster than a teenage halloween prank, it's easy to lose track of when they were laid.

Never fear, a washable marker is here! An eggcellent solution to stop the confusion is simply - to take a few minutes and date them. The washable kid markers are non-toxic so they won't harm the egg. If you don't want to mark the actual egg, you can just mark your carton as you fill it up. It doesn't take long, but for me it's been super helpful. My city-man husband appreciates it too because he get's a little nervous when he sees 6 dozen eggs sitting in the fridge!

Summer Screen Time

I am loving our summer system for allowing the children on screens. Typically, we spend a lot of time at the pool during the summer. The first 2 weeks, we got into a habit where as soon as the children walked in the door, they immediately got on their iPads... or turned on Netflix... or fired up the Wii. Before I knew it, 3 hours had passed by the time we sat down for dinner!

Haaeeeelll no. That ain't happnin'.

I called a meeting in the school room, and presented the plan.

While I do want you all to have a very relaxing and fun summer, I do need to put a boundary on the amount of screen time each of you get. Henceforth! One hour of screens will cost you one hour of school work. You give me an hour of work, I give you an hour of screens. This can be reading (from the approved summer reading list), Spanish, handwriting, review material from last year, or math. Expecting fuss and protest, I stood there in silence while they stared back at me. After a few seconds, the middle one replied, "Ok." Then they all ran off.

"That went better than I expected", I thought.

A few minutes later, the older two re-entered the room with a list of questions.

1. So what is the limit per day?
~No limit.
2. Are there roll-over minutes if we don't cash in the work minutes each day?
~Yes you are allowed rollover minutes.
3. How are you going to keep track of this?
~Good question. Here is the official clipboard I will use to document your work time and screen time.
4. Where is the approved reading list?
~Approved reading list is underneath the pad on the clipboard.
5. Can we do certain things together to save time?
~You mean teamwork? Synergy? Community? Of course. In fact, I would encourage that.


So far the system has worked beautifully! The children get home from the pool and walk straight to the school room and get out their books! They have been working together and encouraging one another. They have been reading together and doing math flashcards. WOW! I don't get this kind of participation during the school year!


This has me thinking - perhaps this will remain our screen-time reward system all year long....

Crab Sex!

Every year we go to Watercolor, FL for our family vacation. And every year at Watercolor, we take the children crab hunting at night (usually 2-3x in the week). This year, we got to the beach a couple of weeks earlier than usual. And we noticed something we have never had the opportunity to see before. It was mating season!

First, we caught a glimpse of these two lovers.

My, what huge arms you have....

You see, the children know many things about mating because they have witnessed the act among dogs and have asked every question under the sun. So to see two crabs mating was immensely exciting (in an educational sort of way).

We kept noticing that the smaller crabs (female) had a orange spongy type sack underneath her hind legs. You guessed it - a FERTILIZED egg sack!

We couldn't wait to get back to the house and begin researching crabs: life cycle, differences between male and female and oh yes, crab sex.

This is what we found out.

Fertilization takes place after the female has molted, so the shell is still soft.

When fertilization has taken place, the eggs are released onto the female's abdomen, below the tail flap, secured with a sticky material. In this location they are protected during embryonic development (it reminds me of how spider mamas carry their eggs on their backs).

Females carrying eggs are called "berried" since the eggs resemble round berries. When development is complete, the female releases the newly-hatched larvae into the water. The release is often timed with the tides. The free-swimming tiny larvae can float and take advantage of water currents.

There are several stages of molts (if you live that long!), until finally the baby crab becomes a "juvenile", at which time it can live on the bottom rather than floating aimlessly with the current.



Finally, a shout out to the CRAB HUNTERS! Creighton Alexander and John Arsenault. What an awesome night!

Raising problem solvers

Often, I feel less than qualified as a homeschool mom....

However, one thing I do well, is to prioritize raising up problem solvers. I make it my educational goal each day and long-term, to teach my children to push through problems toward multiple solutions.

When I look at the young adults I interact with day to day in the service industry, I realize that they have a difficult time solving even the simplest issues. I thrive on finding opportunities to help people push through the struggles they may face - whether with a receipt or an exchange, a substitution at a restaurant or ordering something off menu. When a service associate tells me, "I can't", the hairs on the back of my neck bristle, and I move in for my teaching moment. Don't worry, I am always kind about it. But I do enjoy coaching people into the next solution!

In the mornings, I call the children to school and we pray together. After that, we recite our educational mission:

We ARE energetic self-starters, who can be creative, work independently, and SOLVE PROBLEMS.

In any industry, not just the service industry, these are most often the qualities a boss is looking for. She may not care if we know the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly. He may not ever ask us to sing the US Presidents song. But I guarantee - she/he will take notice if we demonstrate these masterful qualities!

Easter and A Resurrection Garden

I usually dread Easter every year. My homeschool kids don't want to buy Easter outfits, they don't even want to shower half the time. 11am on Easter morning at First Church, Anytown, USA is stressful to say the least. That is why last year, we decided to start a new tradition: Sunrise service, breakfast out, and fun/meaningful activities back at the house for the remainder of the day.
This year, we located a worshipping congregation on the lake who was hosting a sunrise service at 6am. What a blessing it was to sit near the water, gaze at the rising sun, and celebrate the Risen Christ.



Once we got back home, we had our easter egg hunt (that obligatory cultural tip of the hat) which the kids still continue to thoroughly enjoy. We make it harder and harder each year, so it's fun for mom and dad.
After all the children were sufficiently stuffed with chocolate :), we went inside to work on our Resurrection Gardens.

We have been wanting to do this craft together for a couple of years. Finally, we just carved out the time and energy to make it happen!
Supplies: a clay pot, a clay base, soil, grass seed, a rock to cover the "empty tomb", and sticks gathered from outside to make the cross.


Overall, the children were more pleased with Easter this year than any of our previous years together. Hopefully we will continue to be intentional as we turn our hearts toward the most important holiday in the Christian year!

Goat Pen!

I am so excited about my goat pen! I am going to get a goat and start milking soon! Over the holidays, we visited a goat farm and learned a TON about milk, cheese and soap!
As soon as we returned home from our 3 week trip, Creighton and I got to work on our fantastic pen. Standing at 50 inches, this pen should be tall enough for the goat(s) to be unable to jump out....we will see about that. And we are planning to line the bottom with a hot wire. This will deter those nasty predators from digging underneath!

Here are a couple of photos of our progress. More later when we get our new goat!

New Year's Resolu.... (ahem) goals

Do you have any goals for 2013?

Here are mine:
1. Do at least one hands on activity per day with the children.

Now that we are homeschooling, we finish with our work early in the day. The children do a lot of outside play, but still, there are times when they tell me they are "bored". Interestingly, anytime I suggest an activity or craft - they are all ENGAGED. They like spending time with me! I need to remember this because I am told this phenomenon will not last much longer.

2. Exercise 3x per week.

I have gained 15 pounds since moving to Tuscaloosa. With the change of pace and no longer working in a high energy job, I need to kick it into high gear! I used to do yoga 3x a week! And look at my arms just a month before I moved to Alabama!

3. GET OUT MORE

I didn't ever know this about myself. I have a tendency to isolate. There are times where I look up and realize I have not left the house in 3 days. My husband recognizes it and encourages me to get out of the house. #2 and #3 will be accomplished because Creighton has offered to hang with the monkeys 3x a week so that I can go exercise. I am super excited about Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10-11:30am!

4. Stir up community!

When I talk to other moms, whether homeschool or public, I am often surprised that they feel isolated too! Last fall, I hosted a once-a-month friday playdate here on the property from 3:30 - 5:30. So many moms appreciated getting together just to let kids run and climb and play in the creek. Then - I got bogged down with reclusion, and stopped doing it.

So this goal challenges me to step out, reach out and LIVE OUT the community that we are all called to!