Pickles Pickles Pickles, Oh My!

The past few weeks I have been trying to keep up with the abundance of our garden.  I am very tired of cucumbers and zucchini, two vegetables that ANY gardener can grow because they produce like maniacs.  I am not a huge pickle fan, but my dad loves bread and butter pickles and Eric eats sweet gherkins (little whole pickles).  We do not like relish, but I am even making relish just for fun.  I have also canned over a dozen jars of dill pickles.  I have no idea who is going to eat all of these pickles, and I will very likely be giving jars away to anyone who likes them.  Here is how I can bread and butter pickles:

This is my family's recipe for bread and butter pickles.  You can also find a ton of pickle recipes on the internet.  I recommend looking for ones approved by the USDA and Cooperative Extension, as there are some unsafe recipes floating around out there.  Here is a USDA Guide to Pickling, with recipes.

I just learned that powdered alum, a common ingredient in traditional pickle recipes because it helps to make pickles crisp, is actually toxic in amounts over 1 ounce.  I encountered alum in a dill pickle recipe given to me by a relative.  I was tempted to use it anyway, but it just isn't worth the risk.  I used pickling lime (Ball Pickle Crisp) instead.  We have not tasted the dill pickles yet to see if they are crisp, because it takes a little while for them to develop a good flavor.

Anyway, back to the bread and butters!  Cut your cucumbers, onions, and peppers.  I was crying so badly after 6 onions that I stopped there.  Anna came in and was watching me cut vegetables and she was even crying; the whole kitchen was fumigated with onion.  After my first batch I picked up a Progressive onion cutter, like this one.  I am in love!  I had way fewer tears using this handy kitchen tool.

Let the cucumbers sit under ice for 3-4 hours.  Drain.  Simmer your pickles in the vinegar/sugar/spice mixture.  The spices I use are celery seed, tumeric, and ground cloves.

Stir the pickles every now and then while simmering for 15 minutes.  It takes awhile for them to come to a simmer.  I snacked on some freshly picked blueberries while I was waiting.

I also prepared my jars and water bath canner so that everything was ready to go as soon as the 15 minutes was up.

Pack the hot pickles and pickle juice into hot, sterilized, jars.  Place the hot lids on them and screw on the bands.  Process in the hot water bath for five minutes. 

Remove the jars and place them on a wire rack to cool and enjoy the sound of jars sealing!

Red Raspberry Jam

I really enjoy picking fruit.  I mean, what could be better than being out in the sunshine picking fresh beautiful berries and bringing it home to make yummy stuff like pies and jams?  So far this year, I've picked strawberries in June, and blueberries and raspberries in July.  I drag my girls along with me, so I rarely pick for more than an hour. 

A couple of weeks ago, my dad and sister went with us to pick raspberries.  It's been a hot summer, so the berries we picked were some of the few left on the bushes.  Here is step-by-step how I made raspberry jam:

I washed the berries and put them in a pot to mash one cup at a time.  Added pectin (I buy Certo boxes) and followed the directions on the box. 

The recipe is the same on the box as it is in this You Can Can! book.  Yes, I can can, can you?

I stirred the raspberry jam, while heating.  Once it boiled, I added the sugar all at once.  Make sure you have enough sugar on hand!  This recipe took 6 cups!  I often do double batches.  You'll get diabetes just looking at 12 cups of sugar.

While your jam is "cooking," put some lids in hot water to keep warm and start your water bath canner boiling.  Clean your jars.  I often run my jars and rings in the dishwasher on sterilize and try to time it so that they are hot and ready at the right time.  You could also just boil your clean jars in the canner.

Check on the kiddos.  Yup, Clara is still sleeping.

Anna is watching cartoons...

Uh oh, Anna decided to come check out what mommy's doing.  "Mommy doing?"  Here, play with some alphabet fridge magnets.  Later, I resort to throwing canning jar rings on the floor for her to play with.  She likes to put them on her wrists and ankles.

Put your raspberry jam into the hot, sterilized jars.  Fill to the right height on the jar, according to the recipe.  Beautiful!

Get the lids out of the hot water to place on the jars.  I use a magnet stick, which came in a canning kit.  Oops, the end of it melted because it was resting against the hot canner.  Make sure you don't do that! 

Put the lids on and screw the bands tight, but no need to crank it.  Put them in the canner and process 5 minutes, according to your recipe instructions.  Make sure you time it from when the water begins to boil again.

Dishes to wash.  But before you know it, the timer goes off and your jam is processed.

Remove jars and place on a wire rack.  My favorite part is listening to the lids pop as they seal.  It is so satisfying!

Clara is still sleeping.  What a good baby!

With a little bit of work, you can put up plenty of jam for a year's worth of toast, waffles, and bagels.  Eric especially loves homemade jam.  He even gets pretty possessive over it, so I have to make extra for family and friends to give away (and sneak it to them).  Strawberry and raspberry are his favorites, but I've made peach jam, too.  Blueberries I'd rather just freeze and make pies and other desserts from.  Oh what fun!  Next time I'll post about making pickles.  Stay tuned!

Through the farmhouse kitchen window

This is the view from my kitchen.  From here I can watch the barn cats play, the cows go through the barn to the milking parlor, and my husband and father-in-law working.  It is an excellent view to have, and I think this picture is somewhat symbolic of our lives.  I am busy at work in the house with our family, cooking, cleaning, and providing a haven and comforting place to live.  My husband is out working, rain or shine, making milk for our table, and for others.  He doesn't get paid nearly enough for so much work, but we love it anyway.

Fresh From the Garden

Eric loves to plant his vegetable garden every year.  I love to eat it.  Yesterday's dinner was as follows:

Grilled chicken on a fresh-from-the-garden salad (literally picked an hour prior), green beans freshly snapped, and oven-fried zucchini sticks.  If you try the zucchini sticks, try adding some parmesan or some other seasonings/flavors.  They were pretty bland in my opinion.  Eric didn't even try them.  Otherwise, they were a snap to prepare and are pretty good.

I discovered that my picky eater prefers raw green beans to cooked.  I don't know how long I've struggled to get her to take one bite of a cooked grean bean.  She was so excited to bite into a raw green bean, and once she started she ate about 7-8 of them!  Hey, it's even healthier raw than cooked, so snack away dearie!

Coming Home

Our hospital no longer does newborn photos, so we attempted a few of our own.  This is the only one that turned out semi-decent.  This was taken on the day we left the hospital. 

Clara slept the whole way home.  We even stopped to pick up two half chicken dinners from a bbq truck across the street from our drug store (vicodin!!!).  She graciously allowed me to consume said chicken in leisure.  My mom still had Anna so the house was very (oddly) quiet.  Until later that afternoon!

This was taken a week after we came home.  I admit that I didn't take a lot of pictures that first week.  I was too busy changing aforementioned diapers and trying to keep up with Clara's frequent feedings.  I swear, the girl wanted to eat every hour!  Anna enjoys holding her, but for only a second.  "Ok, Ok, Ok," is her sign when she is done.  She also likes to exclaim, "Wiggly!"

We have two beautiful little girls, don't we?!!  :)

Well it seems as though I abondoned my blog.  It's been ages since we've last visited, dear blog, and I've got to admit I didn't start missing you until just now.   I was doing some research for work on blogs and I decided I would really like to start blogging again.  Hmm, but how to pick up a blog that has had no love and no structure for so long?

Let's jump right back in.  I love my family.  I was pregnant the last time I logged in here.  Now I am 30 pounds lighter and 12 pounds of baby more fortunate.  My little love, Clara, was born on May 8, 2012 via c-section.  She was 8 pounds, 0.5 ounce, 20 inches.  Anna was just 1.5 ounces heavier, so my girls both started off at a pretty decent but not alarmingly large weight.  Clara emerged screaming, but quickly calmed. 

I loved my time with her in the hospital.  We had time, just her and I, to bond and cuddle.  Once home, all hell broke loose, as Anna somehow came down with diarhhea and was under the weather.  I had what felt like hundreds of diapers to change and my recovery from the c-section was keeping me sore and helpless.  Eric had to get Anna in and out of her crib, and I ended up sleeping with Clara on my chest most of the night, for several nights, as I was too sore to get in and out of bed everytime she woke. 

Breastfeeding was pretty easy with Clara.  I had the typical nipple soreness, but I never felt too engorged.  I actually worried a bit that I wasn't going to get my milk, but then I could hear her swallowing and see her spit up and I knew everything was ok.  She gained 2 pounds in 2 weeks and was quickly settling into a regular eat and sleep routine.  I'll post lots more about Clara and how she's growing, as well as Anna's adjustment to being a big sister.  But for now, here are some heartwarming newborn pics.

Nervous second time around

The past week I've really started thinking about the delivery of this baby.  Now that I am 25 weeks along, just past the point of viability if this baby were to arrive early, I find that I am focusing on when our dear baby make her arrival.  Will she be early?  Will everything go as planned until I reach 40 weeks and my scheduled delivery date? 

Since I had some bleeding in the beginning, it has felt to me like this pregnancy was going to be different than my run of the mill textbook pregnancy with Anna.  But contrary to this feeling, once leaving the first trimester behind, everything has gone as planned.  But I can't shake this feeling of worry. 

Every ache, every pain, every cramp reminds me of contractions.  And I've had a lot more this time, which are explained to me as Round Ligament pains caused by stretching.  I cleaned vigorously on Saturday while getting ready to have sixteen wonderful family members over to celebrate my birthday.  After cleaning the fridge, freezer, and under the sink, sweeping, mopping, and dusting, I felt like I'd run a marathon and my back felt like someone was stabbing me with every motion.  Sunday evening I thought my water was leaking, but I think it was normal pregnancy yuckiness.  I didn't dare tell my husband, because I don't want him to worry.

I think the worry stems from two things:

A. I've been through all of this before, but my first pregnancy I was more focused on all of the changes occuring within my body and how I was going to deal with adjusting to mommyhood.  This time, I know what to expect but I am left thinking more about the "what if's."

B.  I've loved a darling little girl for all of her 19 months of life plus the 9 months I carried her.  I know how intense my feelings are for my daughter, and I therefore know how devastating it would be to lose this baby.  I haven't met her yet, but I love her and I love the possibilities she brings to our family.

I know that I've got to let my concerns and fears go and trust that God will guide us through this pregnancy just as He did last time.  Perhaps recognizing my fears for what they are will help me to let them go.

Day #3

Friday was Day #3 of trying to get our picky eater to eat something (anything!) new.  I sent all "new" foods to challenge her palate in her lunch box except for a banana, which she never refuses.  Jennifer, our sitter, tried them all but the only food Anna ate that whole day was the banana.  That night I kept her busy with Elmo videos and toys and kept trying the peanut butter and fluff sandwich that she refused at lunch.  Still couldn't get her to eat.  And this was after going to bed hungry two nights in a row and barely eating all day.  I think she would starve herself rather than give in!  Eric called in from the barn to ask what was for dinner and suggested that we just eat pancakes.  I agreed because I knew at that point that we had to re-evaluate this plan.

I ordered "The No Cry Solution to Picky Eating" on my kindle (LOVE MY KINDLE!) and started reading before making our pancake dinner.  The author reassured me that picky eating is normal, especially from 12 months on.  It has caused parents endless stress for many years, and there are a lot of techniques out there to deal with it.  Pantley suggests not to overly stress over every meal, to try something new each time you feed your child, and to make meal-time more fun and engaging.  There are "sneaky chef" recipes that I doubt that I will try in case all else fails.  I decided after  doing some reading that I'll continue to try to introduce new foods, but not while restricting her intake.  Meaning, every meal will feature new foods, but there will be something that she WILL eat with it.  Pantley says that a picky eater might refuse a new food 10-15 times before finally trying it.  What I was expecting of her might not have been totally realistic.  And there is no overnight or one-week solution to picky eating. 

So Friday night, as  we sat at the dinner table eating our pancakes, I reflected on this whole tribulation.  I realized that as long as I am a parent, I will face challenges like this one.  I also realized that I have to listen to my heart and if a plan of attack is not working, I then need to re-evaluate.  Since beginning my journey as a mother, I think I've learned more from my daughter than she's learned from me.  And I think that is a neat part of parenting.

Day #2

Last night was our second attempt at getting Anna to eat what we are eating for dinner.  On the menu for the night was sloppy joes and green beans.  Again, pretty kid-friendly I thought.  Well, she sat in her chair for a minute or two and then started crying.  Instead of scarring her for life by forcing her to sit there longer, I let her down.  I figured I would try again.  I tried five or six more times to get her to eat from her plate, either with her sitting in her chair, sitting on my lap, or running around.  She didn't eat a single bite.  She went to bed hungry.  I think she really understands what is going on though and it is a battle of wills.  She walked into the kitchen twice with her hands reaching up to the counter saying "please?"  It's breaking my heart!

I realize that I need to set some goals:

Goal #1:  Have a nice, quiet sit down meal with Anna at the table eating the same things that we are eating.
           Objective #1:  Force Anna to sit in her booster seat at the table for longer and longer periods of time each night.  Last night she sat for approximately 2-3 minutes.  I will work to extend each night by 1 minute until she can sit with us for a full meal.  Consider only feeding her meals in her chair, instead of wherever I can catch her at the moment.
           Objective #2:  Introduce new foods at breakfast and lunch at daycare.  We have to consistently keep trying new foods, not just at dinner time, or else I think she will fill up on her normal foods during the day and go hungry each night.
           Objective #3:  Keep firm at night.  If she doesn't eat it, she goes to bed hungry
           Objective #4:  Limit milk intake to 15 ounces per day.  The rest of her fluids should be from water and juice (not currently drinking juice).  This might help her to eat more food.
           Objective #5:  Keep reasearching and reading!  Ask for advice and help from family and friends.

Reading Material:  Just Take a Bite.  http://www.amazon.com/Just-Take-Bite-Effective-Challenges/dp/1932565124/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Food Wars

This is like Part II of my blog.  This blog is starting to evolve.  First stage:  Introduction to "Ginny's Happy Family."  Part Two:  "Food Wars."

Parenting seems to be the hardest task I'll ever undertake.  And I've hardly put a dent in my "parenting career."  My biggest concern at the moment is making sure my darling daughter is eating both adequately and nutritiously.  Today's doctor's appointment was the catalyst to finally doing something about her picky eating habits.  The doctor is not worried about her weight and height, although she is in the 8th percentile for weight and 24th for height, and my little peanut is healthy.  We talked about my concern about her eating habits.  The doctor agreed that this was a concern.  She suggested that I stick to my guns, and if she refuses what I put in front of her, let her go to bed hungry.  I've resisted for so long because I knew she was small and every bite counts.

Typical Anna Food Day:  half a pancake.  Snack:  banana.  Lunch:  yogurt cup.  Dinner:  1 1/2 chicken nuggets or half a slice of pizza. 

Let's document what she WILL eat first:

Fruits:  bananas, grapes, apples (but not always)
Vegetables:  corn, peas, beans (but not always)
Protein:  yogurt
Carbs:  pancakes, waffles, french toast, crackers, cookies, sugary stuff

Now let's begin a list of what I wish she would eat consistently, for starters:  peanut butter and jelly, cheese, eggs, meat, casseroles, mac n cheese, sandwiches.  Is this so much to ask?

I understand a toddler is picky, but we are seriously lacking in the protein department.  Not to mention the biggest issue is that she won't even TRY anything.  We'll sit down to dinner and she'll immediately start fussing if she's looking at something that isn't on her "safe" list.  I give it a shot for a few minutes.  I let her out of her high chair/seat.  I fix her something she will eat for dinner.  I admit that I sometimes have just fed her what I know she'll eat without even trying our grown-up dinner because it is easier.  And I blame it on being tired from work and just not wanting to face the tears.  My soft bleeding heart hates those tears!

Well tonight begins "food wars."  I will tell you about our emotional disaster of a dinner, then I'm going to do some research, and then I'll report back what I've learned and hopefully implemented.

Tonight:  I started off easy on myself.  We were going to have fish sticks, tator tots, and peas.  A very toddler-friendly meal, right?  I place all of plates on the table.  Eric comes in for dinner. We sit down and I buckle her into her booster seat and pull her right up to the table.  She starts crying immediately.  Full-out crying.  Not even a little whine.  I let her cry for at least 5 minutes, which seem like an eternity before putting her on my lap, both of our plates in front of us.  I'm eating my dinner with a crying baby in my lap.  She is trying to get my attention by pushing my head back and forth and wrapping her arms around me.  I finish eating.  She is still crying and I know that this isn't going to turn out well.  I make more attempts to get fork near mouth but she is obviously too upset to swallow anything.  I put her down and start clearing the table.  She clings to my legs.  I sit with her at the table, again trying to get her to take a bite of anything.  She is hysterically crying.

At this point Eric says to put her to bed immediately.  It is almost an hour before her bedtime, and I cannot stomach the idea of taking her right up to bed in this state, with an empty belly.  She hasn't eaten since 2pm (late lunch and possibly part of the problem, but goodness she should be at least a little hungry!).  So I stall, but it is apparent that she isn't going to settle down.  I start dishes, with her clinging to my leg and crying.  I make one final attempt at food, this time at the couch where I sometimes let her eat and roam the living room, taking bites between play time.  She's too upset, now, and my heart is breaking.  I start to tear up.  Eric comes down from his shower and he is still in favor of putting her to bed right away.  At this point, I have no idea what else to do.  She seemed somewhat interested in her sippy cup but wouldn't drink, but wouldn't let me take it away either.  So upstairs I go with her, sippy cup in hand.  I try to do the nightime routine of vitamin drops and brushing teeth, but she wouldn't allow me to do either of those.  I change her diaper, pull her pajamas back on, and turn out the light.  She is still gripping that cup with a tight clutch, and I try to pull her to me in a hug.  She is still crying and so am I. 

I lay her down with her two favorite stuffed bunnies and leave the room.  She cries for a second more, but by the time I am downstairs again she has quieted.  I am fully crying and I feel guilty.  I finish my dishes, and decide that I want to get this all off of my chest.  I am then going to tackle this like we did sleeping.  After some reading, we decided to give Cry it Out a try.  CIO worked for us and it was like magic.  Within three days she was sleeping through the night.  Those three nights were the hardest nights I'd had to face, but I have a feeling that worse is yet to come. 

There's got to be a method out there for improving a toddler's eating habits.  And I'm going to find it and share it with you, dear blog and possible readers.

So here is my mission.  Watch me set forth.

Pink!

Our 20 week ultrasound brought excellent news that the baby is healthy and growing right on track.  And although we were hoping for a little boy this time around, we got the wonderful news that Anna is going to have a little sister!

Eric wasn't sure if he wanted to know the baby's sex or not.  For months I have been bothering him for an answer:  do you want to find out if it's a boy or girl?  He'd reply that he had mixed feelings.  He still didn't know on the drive to the doctor's office.  Still didn't know when we went into the ultrasound room.  They did an internal ultrasound (big shock!  They never did one with Anna and I totally wasn't expecting it.  Good thing I had somewhat attempted to shave my legs, although I haven't done due diligence with my upper legs in months).  Then they did the regular ultrasound and took pictures of what they needed.  All parts necessary were there and she was all stretched out with her legs out straight and her arms up by her head.  Just like how I sleep.  Finally the technician turns to us and asks, do you want to know?  Eric looks at me and asks what I think.  I told him it was his decision and that he knew that I wanted to know.  But it was his decision completely and he was going to be the one to say yes or no.  He finally shrugged and said, go ahead and find out.  I still think that he had mixed feelings about it and it stems from not wanting to be disappointed that this was another girl. 

The technician said, it looks like your daughter is going to be a big sister.  I cried a little, not only because I was holding on to a little hope that this was a boy, but because it is an emotional moment where your entire expectation about what this little one was going to be changes.  I quickly got excited about another girl, and Eric handled it very well.  I think he is still disappointed and desperately wants to pass along his last name and heritage to a son, but he already loves this little girl as much as I do.

We told family immediately.  Some were obviously hoping it was a boy, too, but all were excited.  I can't wait to meet her!  I know that she will be close with her big sister, Anna, and that they will have the type of relationship I had with my two younger sisters.  I am also very practically happy that we can re-use all of the girly clothes and toys.

Weight gain:  20 pounds (already!)
Current cravings:  Still craving anything and everything.  Been eating a lot of Christmas cookies lately...
Size of baby:  As long as a carrot.  U/S tech didn't give us an actual size but she is measuring exactly on track for my due date.
Current mood:  Pretty good.  I wake up at night often but I fall right back to sleep.  My energy levels continue to be high.

First Trimester Over!

This week marks week 14, which officially means that I am through the first trimester.  I am thrilled!  I HATE first trimester!  I am starting to feel much better and my energy has returned.  I no longer stare at my messy rooms with despair.  Of course, I still have a lot of work to do around the house to get things in shape!  I noticed a cobweb in the corner of our living room yesterday that is just glaring at me.

Pregnancy perks:  snacking privileges!  I've eaten so much junk lately it's ridiculous.  Halloween candy was out to get me! 
Pregnancy woes:  I found out at 12 weeks that I have placenta previa, which is causing some spotting every now and then.  The doctor said that it is likely to change.  Brief science lesson that you didn't really want:  the placenta right now is covering my cervix, which is not a good spot to be!  Nothing causing stress to my cervix is allowed- meaning no sex, no lifting, no exercise, etc.  Ok, all bearable.  And at this stage in pregnancy, the placenta has a great chance of moving up and away from the cervix as it grows.  I get to have an ultrasound every 4 weeks to monitor it.
Stats:  weight gained so far- 5-7 pounds, depending on the day.  So far, I am doing much better than the first time around.

Non-pregnancy related updates.  Anna continues to amaze me!  She's just learning and growing tremendously.  Yesterday I took her to the barn as we usually do after getting home from work.  The cows were in the holding area waiting to be milked.  We can get right up close to them standing behind some metal gates.  Close enough for her to reach her hand out and touch their noses.  One of them was particularly interested in us, and each time Anna touched her wet slimy nose, she would burst into giggles!  Yes, a cows nose probably feels unusual to a little one!  Two of MY cows (emphasis my, since 99% of them are my husband and father-in-laws) just calved and had each a beautiful baby girl heifer.  A heifer is always preferable as they are raised to adulthood.  A bull has the unfortunate purpose in life to become meat. 

I'm really enjoying life lately!  I am full of anticipation and excitement, and I somehow feel so much more ALIVE when pregnant!  Like two hearts beating in one body somehow makes life so much more real, full, and rich!