Hot "Cocoa" on Xmas Day

It is so much easier to change our diets than to tell our little one 'no' for everything we love to eat and drink - but he can't. What to do without hot cocoa on a winter's day? Here's our son's favourite allergy-free substitute treat: hot carob 'tea'! Mix together 2 tbsp sifted carob and 2 tbsp sucanat or other sweetener. Add 2 cups of hot milk, a little at a time, and whisk.

According to Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs, carob reverses kidney failure (2 tsp of carob powder in cranberry juice or milk, taken 4 - 5 times daily) and is one of the best remedies for infant and adult diarrhea (it has anti-viral and anti-bacteria properties)!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Our Little Boy is Crazy about Cars

By 18 months old, our son could say and point out a car's windshield, wipers, mirrors, wheels, engine, exhaust, hood and steering wheel. Now at 24 months old, he loves to point cars out: that's a symbol for BMW, Mercedes, bull for Toyota, Nissan, blue oval for Ford, Volvo, Renault, Fiat, Chevrolet, Ram truck (for Dodge), H for Honda, L for Lexus, VW, A for Acura and horse for Ferrari (which is a rarity where we live). He tells us who in his life has that specific car and he is also working on telling us where each car is made. He loves watching cars, playing with cars, pretending to drive our cars and driving his car. Our little boy is plain crazy about cars!

Tightwads: Signs of the Times

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
- Mohandas Gandhi -

When times are tough, it seems people are keen on living more simply. Everyone is eager to save money, resources and time. For us, living simply, going green and being as self-sufficient as we can has always been a goal. Admittedly, there are certain things we cannot scrimp on: such as our local and organic food, which not only supports our community but also supports our belief that food is our medicine. However, for the most part, we live our daily life as tightwads. And as tightwads, life is so much simpler, greener and liberating.

I recently finished reading the Complete Tightwad Gazette. I am even more inspired to be more of a tightwad. I also discovered that much of how people save is through food. Indeed, this is how we save:

Cuban Bread (above) from the Tightwad Gazette takes only 1 1/2 hours all together and only about 15 minutes of involved time:
Mix together 4 cups flour, 2 tbsp yeast, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp salt. Pour in 2 cups of hot water and beat for 3 minutes. Stir in enough flour to form a dough, around 1-2 cups more. Knead for 8 minutes. Allow to rise for 15 minutes. Punch and divide into 2 pieces. Shape into round loaves, brush with water and place in a cold oven. Place a pan with hot water on the lowest shelf and set the oven for 400F. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes.

- hardly eat out and make most of our foods from scratch
- use our bread machine
- use our slow cooker
- cook double batches so we can eat for lunch what we had for dinner the night before
- cook in bulk and freeze (although in Ayurveda, frozen foods is not the best for the body as it is not live food, freezing allows our family more free time together and at the very least it is homemade)
- plant vegetables in the garden
- freeze odds and ends for stock
- buy goods on sale at the local health food store
- stopped using ziplock bags for every storage use and packed lunches. Now use glass or ceramic or stainless steel containers. If we use ziplock bags, we definitely wash and reuse.

Other ways we save? Friends and family:

- you'd be surprised, yes, I am our in-house barber/stylist. I have cut my husband's hair since we married, my son's hair since he was born and just this year figured out how to cut my own.
- wash our own cars (it is fun when you have music on!)
- unplug appliances that we do not use
- have a programmable thermostat that we can set to desired temperatures
- chose credit cards wisely - one that gives us money back and another that discounts on gas
- write e-mails versus snail mails
- travel using mileage
- avoid consumerism and materialism
- borrow books, CDs and DVDs instead of buy
- use coupons, especially when purchasing on-line (you'd be surprised how much my husband saves!)
- buy from consignment shops, auction houses and e-bay
- clump errands according to location
- my husband is our DIY plumber, irrigation man, electrician, mechanic...
- I am a SAHM

Interesting websites:

Cheap Like Me
Get Rich Slowly
The Daily Green
No Impact Man
Urban Homemaker

Our Son's New Futon

Since he was 10 months old, our son preferred to sleep on the floor. Although we had bought a beautiful crib, we put it away and settled on a wonderfully thick duvet we had as a replacement for his new bed. He seemed to really love his bed on the floor but we have to admit that it would lump up in different places and formed big hard crevices here and there. My mother was appalled (I think) and just recently for our son's 2nd birthday bought him a 3-inch futon bed and comforter. When we unpacked it, our son was very excited and danced all over it. During the day, he loves to pretend to sleep in it or hide under his new blanket. Not only that, since replacing his duvet bed with the futon, my son has slept solidly through the night. After 2 years of not being able to sleep more than 2 to 4 hour blocks, we are elated. Whether it is the futon or the weaning - or both, we don't know, but we are now all sleeping!!!

And sleeping makes a world of difference.

Thank you A. for the futon!!!

Home School Goes Mainstream

Education Next, a Hoover Institute Quarterly, published an article on Home Schooling for their Winter Issue: Home Schooling Goes Mainstream By Milton Gaither

1.5 million homeschooled students in the US in 2007 - an increase of 74% from 1999, click here for issue brief