{pretty, funny, happy, real}: July 4th, 2013

I am joining Rosie at Like Mother, Like Daughter for the first time in, oh, maybe a year or so?  Seems like forever!

{Pretty}

We've enjoyed some pretty weather this week.  It has been nice, on a couple of occasions, to be able to keep the windows open and the air conditioner off throughout most of the day.  It's been nice to send the kids outside, too, without having them come in 15 minutes later panting that it's too hot outside, and why can't we just watch a video instead? I wish we could have some of that glorious weather today.  

It's raining.  A lot.

{funny}

Gemma sporting her brother's fake mustache is funny.

And Gemma falling asleep upside-down is pretty funny, too.  I hate flash photography, but my camera--no cheapie, by the way--takes really lousy indoor shots in low-light conditions.  Only the schoolroom has anything other than low-light conditions.

{happy}

Oh, yeah...this is happy to the extreme for the boys.  For me--not so much!  Uncle Cliff gathered up not only his 40 year-old Legos, but also those of a cousin who is now in college, and my boys are the happy beneficiaries of this beneficence.  So, what's another 8 lbs of Legos added to the 20 lbs of Legos we already have?  It means the Legos my need their own room soon.

{real}

Real as in real food.  We already are blessed to have our own milk, butter, yogurt, eggs, pork and we'll have beef, too, when our bull calves are up to weight, and I order my organic bulk goods from a food co-op.  Getting decent produce is still a problem. In our area, if you don't maintain a garden and don't belong to a CSA, you have little access to organic produce, and what there is is expensive.  We have 8 in our family, and produce is one of our main grocery expenditures.  Mainly we end up eating commercial produce, which I soak and/or wash the heck out of with a fruit and vegetable wash.  I found this handy little chart on Facebook, and I think I will print it out for my wallet:

And you may or may not already be familiar with this information, but here is a tip on reading produce labels to find out whether you produce is conventional, organic or genetically engineered (GMO):

Labels on fruits and vegetables have a 4 or 5 digit code.

If the label has 4 digits, it means that it was "conventionally grown, but not organic". If it has 5 digits, and begins with a 9, it means that the produce was organically grown.
A 5 digit code that begins with an 8 indicates that the produce was genetically modified.

My kids are all becoming active label-readers, and to me, that's a great accomplishment.  When kids will pass on a box of candy because it has Yellow 5 and Red 40, I feel like I've actually taught them something!

Hope you have a wonderful July 4th wherever you may be.  It's still raining here!

Thanks a lot, Adrian...!

Adrian [staring into a pan of sliced chicken sauteed with onions and a colorful mix of bell peppers]: "Can't I have something else for dinner?"

Me:  "No, this is what's for dinner--it'll be good; I'll put it in a tortilla with sour cream and a bit of taco sauce.  C'mon--aren't you the kid who went for the baby octopus at the Chinese Buffet?"

Adrian:  "Yeah, but that was appetizing."

= (

Pie

                                 

Rosemary Apple Pies

Getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Three days left! Fight Monsanto!

Please join the fight and donate whatever you can manage to Millions Against Monsanto.  They are trying to raise a million dollars by May 26th in order to receive a matching grant.  The money will be used to support California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, a citizens ballot initiative and other state GMO labeling campaigns.

Please take a moment to read this one-page article from Dr. Mercola's newsletter so as to get some idea of just how devious Monsanto is and how very dangerous GMOs are to our health.  As of yet, and thanks to the muscle of Monsanto, genetically modified foods do not require labeling.  Let's change that.

You can donate right here.

How many of these do you use?

I strongly urge everyone, but especially mothers who are interested in feeding real, unadulterated food to their kids, to take a look at this list of food products that contain genetically engineered or modified ingredients.

Combine genetic manipulation with soil depletion, artificial ingredients and a slew of preservatives and you may feel that the task of feeding your kids well is nigh impossible; I often feel that way. All I can say is, raise what you can yourself (even if all you can do is a few containers or raised beds of salad greens and tomatoes), buy local as much as possible, cut out unnecessary junk and cut back on whatever else you need to in order to pay the price for real food. If you have to travel a distance for it, make a monthly trip and fill your freezer accordingly. God made humans tough, and yes, children will grow even eating all that toxic garbage out there. But what happens then? Our health is compromised enough by things out of our control, like air quality and our water supply. So it is all the more important to try to do the best we can in those areas that are within our control.