Posted on 30th September 2008 by Mish in homeschool | large family
big families, duggar family, environmental impact, hogan family, homeschool, josh duggar, joshua duggar, large families, large family, michelle kennedy hogan, rabbi shumley boteach
I love large families. That’s probably why I chose to have one – although my family isn’t nearly as large as the Duggars. Because I have six kids and I am considered pretty crunchy by my friends (and most everyone else), I often get harrassed questioned about the social responsibility of having a large family. I’ve wanted to have a lot of kids ever since I was about 12. I was reading a lot of books on the Kennedys back then (I thought I was one) and I remember reading a book by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy about raising her nine children. I thought that was just amazing! Even though she had lots of paid help and sent her kids off to boarding school – I still thought it was wonderfully impressive.
Let me say first, that I am a huge fan of the Duggar family. I think they are just amazing. I wish I had had their convictions about having a large family when I was young. I made a lot of mistakes and have allowed behaviors in my children (particularly my oldest) that I wish I had “nipped in the bud” years ago. I wish I had their conviction to homeschool right from the beginning, but as you have read in my other columns, I often fall prey to that “Back to School” mentality.
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Technorati Tags: big families, duggar family, environmental impact, hogan family, homeschool, josh duggar, joshua duggar, large families, large family, michelle kennedy hogan, rabbi shumley boteach
Posted on 27th September 2008 by Mish in christmas
art, christmas, heidi shaulis, paintings
I was trolling around etsy – just gathering ideas, as I am new to the site and found Heidi Shaulis. It turns out she lives just a couple of towns over from here.
Her paintings are simply beautiful! And her husband’s woodwork is amazing…check them out.
Isn’t that amazing? Her blog says it will be her Christmas Card this year – I hope I can make it my Christmas cards too!
Technorati Tags: art, christmas, heidi shaulis, paintings
Posted on 26th September 2008 by Mish in christmas | food
christmas, christmas gifts, food, green gifts, maple syrup, vermont, vermont maple syrup
A long time ago, my dad told me about a farm that used to lease out their maple trees for the maple-syrup making season. We are doing something similar on the farm. For the last few years, we have had a “Rent a Maple Tree” program. I’ve never offered it online before, but have had increased interest – so I thought maybe readers of this blog might like to give a great, green gift – for the holidays – or anytime!
In your Maple Lease package you get a sexy, parchment paper lease agreement; at least one gallon of pure Vermont maple syrup (or more if your tree makes more); three newsletters updating you on the trees, Vermont and the maple season – as well as historical tidbits and maple recipes!
Click here to get started with your lease!
Technorati Tags: christmas, christmas gifts, food, green gifts, maple syrup, vermont, vermont maple syrup
Posted on 26th September 2008 by Mish in attachment parenting | homeschool
attachment parenting, homeschool, homeschooling, unconventional children, unconventional parenting, unschooling
I was reading a post at Natural Fatherhood about positive discipline and permissive – or non-permissive parenting, and it got me thinking. He cites this quote: “The world is full of followers, but you’re not one of them.”- JL Glass
I started thinking about this quote in a different way.
We are pretty unconventional people. We homeschool. We are self-employed. We are anti-TV. We only own one car (which is actually pretty unconventional where I live!). We use cloth diapers and make our own salsa and tomato sauce out of tomatoes we grew. We don’t really care about money that much.
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Technorati Tags: attachment parenting, homeschool, homeschooling, unconventional children, unconventional parenting, unschooling
Posted on 24th September 2008 by Mish in food | frugal
butchering, farm, food, frugal, lamb, meat, organic meat, pastured meat
Saturday was killing day for three of our sheep. These three were meat sheep that we didn’t particularly enjoy having around. They were unfriendly and a little rough on our pasture fences. We still have two remaining Romney ewes that we intend to keep and possibly breed again.
Mark Durkee is a local legend. He’s been featured in several books including a great book about a farm near here called “Harvest,” and John O’Brien (another local legend, you may have heard of his movie “A Man With a Plan” – if not – find it, it’s wonderful) has featured him in his latest movie (or at least that’s what Mark told me on Saturday).
Mark is a true Vermont character. His career has been killing, skinning and gutting all sorts of animals. He does it, not because he enjoys the killing, but he likes being his own boss, he knows how to do it well, it brings him some cash and he can spend his days doing other things – he also, I think, likes traveling around and spending the morning with the farmers.
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Technorati Tags: butchering, farm, food, frugal, lamb, meat, organic meat, pastured meat
Posted on 21st September 2008 by Mish in miscellaneous
aaron sorkin, Barack Obama, jed bartlet, maureen dowd, miscellaneous, the west wing
I’m a huge West Wing fan – huge! I own all seven seasons on DVD and watch an episode everyday at lunch. Here is a piece of the Obama – Bartlet chat as written by Maureen Dowd this morning…
OBAMA: What would you do?
BARTLET:GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!
Here’s the rest…
Technorati Tags: aaron sorkin, Barack Obama, jed bartlet, maureen dowd, miscellaneous, the west wing
Posted on 19th September 2008 by Mish in miscellaneous
Alaska Governor, election 2008, John McCain, maureen dowd, miscellaneous, palin, presidential election, Sarah Palin, vice presidential candidate
OK – let me set a few things straight right from the beginning.
1. I am a die-hard Democrat. Always have been. I was born with a blue tongue…
2. I liked John McCain. I did. I thought, for a while, that of all the Republicans, he was the one I could have dealt with the most.
3. I wanted to like Sarah Palin. I did. I tried. Really Hard. I swear.
But I can’t do it. I can’t like her. I even got mad at Maureen Dowd – one of my favorite writers – because I thought she was being a little too harsh on her in the beginning.
I was wrong.
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Technorati Tags: Alaska Governor, election 2008, John McCain, maureen dowd, miscellaneous, palin, presidential election, Sarah Palin, vice presidential candidate
Posted on 16th September 2008 by Mish in frugal
frugal, green building, hobbit house, low impact home, sustainable building, sustainable home, woodland home
Now this is the kind of thing I wish I saw on Extreme Home Makeovers! What a wonderful, sustainable home. I’m trying to talk my husband into doing this even as we speak…with all the kids, we might have to dig a little deeper though.
A Low Impact Woodland Home.
Technorati Tags: frugal, green building, hobbit house, low impact home, sustainable building, sustainable home, woodland home
Posted on 16th September 2008 by Mish in food | frugal
eating healthy, food, frugal, kids, pantry
I am so tired of hearing about ways to get kids to eat good food. I’m tired of blogs and books telling me to disguise the food under pizza cheese – or to blend up broccoli and add it to my stew. The only thing this teaches kids is that I’m a sneaky mother – not a decent cook.
This article in the New York Times today was the best I’ve read in a while on the topic.
I’m always getting questions from other mothers on how to get kids to eat decently. Here are the best ways I’ve found to do it.
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Technorati Tags: eating healthy, food, frugal, kids, pantry
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