Pythons Gone Wild!

You have to take the good with the bad. In addition to the beautiful blue herons, egrets, and sandhill cranes, the cool lizards, and soft-shelled turtles — living in the Florida wetlands comes complete with some somewhat sinister wildlife as well. We have seen our share of water moccassins, and rattlesnakes. We know about the coral snakes and copperheads, despite (thankfully) having never had close encounters with them. We have heard the wild boars in the woods behind our house, and have heard tales of the nearby bobcat community. We have even put a halt to our nighttime walks after catching an evening glimpse of the resident Florida panther. We have grown accustomed to (and cautious of) the alligators living in our backyard.

It’s okay. We have learned that to live in harmony with nature around here, we must be wary, use caution, keep a safe distance, and keep a well-supplied first-aid kit. It’s all worth it. We LOVE it here. But THIS is too much! This news story caught my attention this morning and caused me to question whether or not Florida is really the place I wish to be for the longterm. I would kind of like to know I can walk out into my yard at any given time without encountering the likes of this…

To quote (emphasis mine):

MARATHON, Fla. (March 30) — Juan Lopez reads meters with one eye and looks for snakes with the other. Lopez is a member of the “Python Patrol,” a team of utility workers, wildlife officials, park rangers and police trying to keep Burmese pythons from gaining a foothold in the Florida Keys.

Officials say the pythons — which can grow to 20 feet long and eat large animals whole — are being ditched by pet owners in the Florida Everglades, threatening the region’s endangered species and its ecosystem.

“Right now, we have our fingers crossed that they haven’t come this far yet, but if they do, we are prepared,” Lopez said.

Burmese Pythons are rarely seen in the middle Florida Keys, where Lopez works. The Nature Conservancy wants to keep it that way.

The Python Patrol program was started by Alison Higgins, the Nature Conservancy’s Florida Keys conservation manager. She describes it as an “early detection, rapid response” program made up of professionals who work outside.

Eight Burmese pythons have been found in the Keys.

“If we can keep them from spreading and breeding, then we’re that much more ahead of the problem,” Higgins said.

Utility workers, wildlife officials and police officers recently attended a three-hour class about capturing the enormously large snakes. Lt. Jeffrey L. Fobb of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Unit taught the participants how to capture pythons.

“There’s no immutable laws of snake catching. It’s what works,” Fobb said as he demonstrated catching a snake with hooks, bags, blankets and his hands.

“We’re doing it in the Florida Keys because we have a lot to protect,” Higgins said. “The Burmese pythons that are coming out of the Everglades are eating a lot of our endangered species and other creatures, and we want to make sure they don’t breed here.”

Where the snakes are breeding is just north of the Keys in Everglades National Park. An estimated 30,000 Burmese pythons live in the park.

The Everglades, known as the “River of Grass,” is a vast area with a climate perfect for these pythons to hide and breed. And breed they do: The largest clutches of eggs found in the Everglades have numbered up to 83.

The snakes grow like they’re on steroids. With a life span of 30 years, these pythons can weigh as much as 200 pounds. And the larger the snake, the bigger the prey. Biologists have found endangered wood rats, birds, bobcats and other animals in their stomachs.

Two 5-foot-long alligators were found in the stomachs of Burmese pythons that were caught and necropsied, officials say.

Officials also say Burmese pythons can travel 1.6 miles a day by land, and they can swim to reach areas outside the Everglades.

This nonvenomous species was brought into the United States from Southeast Asia. Everglades National Park spokeswoman Linda Friar says biologists believe that well-intended pet owners are to blame for their introduction into the Everglades.

“These pets were released by owners that do not understand the threat to the ecosystem,” she said.

Higgins says 99,000 of the popular pets were brought into the United States from 1996 to 2006, the most recent data available. She says they are an easy species to breed, and you can buy a hatchling for as little as $20.

The problem with these pets, Friar says, is that they get too big for their owners to handle. Making the owner aware of what to expect when the animal becomes full-grown is a priority.

“The pet trade is pretty supportive in educating people,” Friar said. She hopes a “Don’t let it loose” message campaign makes an impact on pet owners.

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, a supporter of restoring the Everglades, has introduced a bill that would ban importing the python species into the United States. The senator saw the need after learning about the effect these snakes were having on the park.

“Finding out many endangered species are being found in the stomach of the python,” Nelson spokeswoman Susie Quinn said, “we need to do a better job at protecting the resources.”

In the meantime, Lopez and the Python Patrol will continue to protect the Florida Keys by capturing the snakes and turning them over to biologists to perform necropsies. The Nature Conservancy plans to expand the program to all the areas that surround the Everglades, making these predators their prey.

“I would like to find them and get rid of them,” Lopez said.

Let me go on record right now as saying that I agree 100% with Lopez’s last statement. This whole situation angers me. On the one hand I certainly don’t wish to see the pythons suffer as far as “getting rid of them” — but I am furious that they are endangering the natural wildlife…and I can’t help but to be afraid that they may end up spreading throughout Florida; decimating even more wildlife and endangering us! If there are already 30,000 of them, and they are laying clutches of 83 eggs, and they can travel over a mile and a half in a single day…well, you do the math. It wouldn’t take them long to end up making their way up to central Florida. And I don’t wish to see them!

Irresponsible pet owners are one of my greatest peeves to begin with, but this takes the cake. PEOPLE, WAKE UP! IF YOU BUY A PET LIKE THIS, IT BECOMES *YOUR* RESPONSIBILITY – PET OWNERSHIP IS A *COMMITTMENT*!

Celebrating Spring 2009 – Day 2

DAY 2: FUN WITH FLOWERS

I just love flowers!  I remember all of those cold dreary winters that I lived in Huntsville, Alabama. Everything would turn brown in the winter, and I would long for the days when my hyacinths and daffodils would peek up through the dormant brown grass and announce the arrival of Spring.

…So I thought it quite appropriate to celebrate the arrival of Spring with some flower-themed food and crafts!

First, for food (after all, what is a celebration without food?) I turned to The Pioneer Woman and her wonderful flower pot desserts recipe.  Here’s how they turned out.

I thought they turned out very cute and realistic-looking.  I’ll definitely be filing away this idea to use again.

For the next activity I turned to Family Fun for this adorable flower craft: Lilies made from the children’s handprints!

Celebrating Spring 2009 – Day 1

DAY 1 – THE EGG HUNT

Celebrating “Easter” has always been a bit of a challenge for me. It was my favorite holiday growing up — for all the wrong reasons. My father, who was typically the “uninvolved” type, always did Easter up really big! I have fond memories of waking up on Easter morning to find an empty Easter basket next to my bed, and the start of a jelly bean trail. I would follow that winding trail through the whole house, collecting the beans and placing them in my basket — down the stairs, around the legs of furniture, over the table…an entire obstacle course of colored beans! At the end of the trail, the jackpot awaited. Assorted toys and a huge chocolate bunny! (And not those wimpy hollow bunnies…nope, this one was SOLID chocolate — a sugar rush just waiting to happen!) I always felt sorry for the kids next door. They had to get up on Easter morning and go to church, of all places! Church, in our family, was reserved for weddings.

I had no clue. I knew nothing of the Resurrection. I knew nothing about Jesus. I knew of Him…but mainly as “oh yeah, that guy on the cross”. I had no clue of the significance…of my Savior!

I find it saddening that such a significant HUGE Christian holiday…the most important Christian holiday could be mingled with Paganism and thus become so secular that hoards of children don’t even understand what it is really all about!

I didn’t want the same thing to happen in my family. I want my children to celebrate Resurrection Day, not “Easter”. I want them to know.  But the egg and basket thing is so fun! On some years I have nixed the basket all together. On other years I have filled the basket with Christian items, such as Bibles or Veggie Tales DVDs. Somehow this still didn’t feel “right”. It was still, in a way, taking the focus off Christ and placing it on the Pagan aspects of the “Easter” celebration.

What do the eggs, the baby bunnies, the chicks, and the flowers really represent to my family anyway? Not the Resurrection of Christ, and certainly not the Fertility goddess Eostre, or Ostara. No, to us, these things represent SPRING! Spring is filled with new life. Baby animals are born. Dormant plants come once again to life. The sun shines brightly. Everything old is new once again! I LOVE spring, and am so thankful to the Creator for giving us this season! So I figured, why not use the eggs and such to celebrate our love for SPRING, keeping Resurrection Day completely separate. So that’s what we’ve done!

Our plan was to have a “First Day of Spring Party”, but you know what they say about good intentions. Life just sort of got in the way, so our party has turned into more of a “Spring Celebration Week”.

We started with an egg hunt at our neighborhood playground. Rob and Audrey drove down to hide the eggs, while the rest of us walked down to give them time. I think little Rey had the best time of all! Look at him showing off his candy stash.

Note to self – Bubble gum is a bad idea for a 3 year old. No more bubble gum as a plastic egg filler. Rey shoved a chewed up piece of gum into the pocket of his shorts (to save for later of course).  Oh dear!

Our Baby Girl – 6 to 8 Weeks

I believe I should start chronicling my days with our latest addition by titling and subtitling as follows:

Raising DeeDee: My Life with the World’s Grumpiest Human Being

Yup, that’s her. Now don’t get me wrong — I am still absolutely crazy about her! But she ain’t no picnic. She has an “intense” personality; very particular. She knows what she wants and what she doesn’t want — and she wants to make sure everyone else knows that as well.

Not a happy camper!
March 18, 2009 – 7 Weeks, 3 Days

Thankfully, having such a “high needs” baby isn’t new to me — so I’m not pulling my hair (completely) out. I can at least rest in the fact that I know there is a “light at the end of the tunnel”. Dinky was the same way. She would scream and scream, sometimes to the point of hoarseness or vomiting, for no apparent reason and despite our best efforts at calming her. As a toddler, once she could communicate, these seemingly nonsense screaming spells turned into tantrums over her socks not “feeling right” or her dress being tied too tightly or too loosely, or her ponytail not being perfectly straight. Now, at the age of 11, she has outgrown the screaming and tantrums (so I KNOW there is hope for her baby sister!), opting instead for whining about a tag in her shirt or her sleeves being too long. I can’t say that I blame her. I do understand, to a great degree, the frustration of something just not being “right” — I have OCD. But, it doesn’t make it any easier to live with.

And so there’s baby “DeeDee”. I suspected, from the time she was in utero, that she would probably have this type of personality. When I was expecting Dinky, over 11 years ago, I couldn’t wear anything with an elastic waist or she would kick frantically at it. DeeDee, likewise, would act in a similar fashion if I so much as crossed my arms over my belly. She let me know that she did not appreciate it.

Now she let’s me know that she does not appreciate the stroller, the car seat, the Gymini — or any other situation in which she is not being carried or held. Typically, unless she is nursing, she wants to be carried (sitting still with her is not an option). And if she is awake, she prefers to either be nursing or “swimming” in the bath tub (she will not tolerate the baby bath, but loves bathing with Mama). And if she’s asleep, forget about putting her down. Once there is no warm body against her, she will instantly wake up screaming.

Being carried by big sister “Cricket” – Don’t ya just love those big cheeks?
March 15, 2009 – 7 Weeks Old

I have attempted shopping or eating out with DeeDee a couple of times. It didn’t work out so well. I have been afraid to try going back to church. I doubt that the other folks from church would even recognize me; it’s been so long. No, for this season of DeeDee’s life, I find it easier to stick to outdoor venues where she can cry her little heart out, if the mood strikes her, without disturbing anyone.

Now don’t go lecturing me about how I’m “spoiling” her; how she needs to be trained by letting her “cry it out”. Like I’ve mentioned, I have raised one of these personalities before, and that type of parenting style just won’t work. In her mind something is really wrong. She has some sort of discomfort or fear that she can’t quite communicate yet, and if I ignore her demands, she will be left feeling abandoned…and is unable to simply settle herself. She would never give up the fight. I am very thankful for my new ErgoBaby carrier. It is a LIFE saver! (or at least a back saver).

It is because of DeeDee’s perpetual grumpiness that I cherish her happy, smiley times so much! When she finds contentment, she is utterly angelic, and when she smiles, her whole face lights up. She smiles so BIG, in fact, that it’s difficult to get a good photograph because she closes her eyes when she smiles!

Above: Smiley Time
March 20, 2009 – 7 Weeks, 5 Days

Below: A Rare Happy Time Under the Gymini
March 18, 2009 – 7 Weeks, 3 Days

Below: 10 Minutes in the Stroller – A Record!
March 15, 2009 – 7 Weeks Old

“DeeDee” Contented
Lying on the quilt that big sister Audrey made for her
March 17, 2009 – 7 Weeks, 2,Days
(See what I mean about angelic?)

It’s Party Time!

Wow! The last year has flown by! It’s already blog party time again – the third annual Ultimate Blog Party, that is – hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom!

We’re joining in again this year…without the flu this time! So come on over!

If you’re visiting me for the first time, let me introduce myself. My name is Janice, but I go by Janne (pronounced “Jan”). I am the mother of ten, having given birth to my latest, a precious little girl, this past January.

As you can probably imagine, with ten children in the household, most of them being homeschooled, every day is a party! And we can almost always find a reason to celebrate!

From left:
Audrey (17), “Gator” (14),  “Ant” (12), “Dinky Tumblina” (11)
“Lefty” (9) holding baby sister “DeeDee” (7 weeks),
“Boo” (8), “Cricket” (6), “Curly-Top” (5), & “Rey” (3)

On any given day you might find us having a back yard tea party, a popcorn party, or a birthday party (hey, we have almost every month covered!). But don’t worry, we won’t be serving any strange desserts like this one to our blog party guests. No, I was thinking more along the lines of some delicious strawberry shortcake, with fresh strawberries from our recent strawberry picking day. Or if you want more than just dessert, be sure to stay for a delicious vegetarian meal prepared by Chef Gator, the head cook in the LeFebvre family household.

When we aren’t finding a reason to celebrate at home, or participating in a fun homeschool project, you will most likely find us exploring nature on an exciting excursion or field trip — or (my personal favorite) a trip to the beach!

While you’re here for the party, I am sure it won’t take long for the children to introduce you our other family members: Scout and Mara (affectionately known as the Siamese twins), Turtle Dude, Spike, and Basil & Sage. And if you are an animal lover, like 9 year old Lefty is, then you’ve come to the right place! Our yard is filled with all kinds of wildlife (but be careful…not all are cute and cuddly).

Oh no! My apologies. I’m afraid we’ll have to cut the party short, before we even get to the crafts! It seems SOMEBODY isn’t happy, and Mama must attend to the cute little party-pooper.

“It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to…”

BUT…before you go, don’t forget the party favors! That’s right — 5 Minutes for Mom is the hub for all sorts of “door prizes“, available to those who join in on the fun! Wonderful door prizes! Some of my favorites being:

• 58 – Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer
  Provided by: Moms Who Think
• 7 — Ergo Baby Carrier – an Ergo Baby Carrier, Front Pouch & Backpack. Valued at $163
  Provided by: A Giveaway Addicted Mommy
• 1 — $100 gift certificate to either Pedal Cars and Retro or A Rocking Horse To Love
  Provided by: 5 Minutes for Mom

And if my top three picks are already chosen, I’d love any of the following (in order of preference):

INTL 8, 89, 53, USC 35, 21, 19, 22, USC 38, USC 73, 88, 102, INTL 67, 26, INTL 61, 68, 91, 52, 27, 66, USC 2, USC 40, 118, 123, 87, 20, 133, 79, 69, 40, USC 27, 30, USC 77…or anything else related to education or babies/children of any age, since I have 10 children from infant to age 17.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

While we are neither Irish nor Catholic, the children always enjoy the holiday celebrations, so celebrate we did!

Although there are many downsides for a country girl like me living in suburbia, some of good things are the clubhouse and the planned neighborhood activities. (It takes a lot of work out of it for me). And while we intend to have our traditional vegetarian St. Patrick’s Day meal for supper tonight, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this past weekend with the neighborhood. There was snack food and fun for the children, including a shamrock hunt, temporary tattoos, and crafts.

“Dinky” (11), sportin’ her green

The Goof Troop.
“Dinky” (11), “Gator” (14), & “Ant” (12)
Dinky & Gator are wearing the tie-dyed shirts they made for the occasion

Rob with his two look-alikes – “Gator” & “Lefty”

“Rey” (3)

Audrey (17) served a very important function – holding her baby sister so I could take pictures!

“Cricket” (6) and “Curly Top” (5) making necklaces

“Boo” (8) doing the same

Rey, Curly-Top, Boo, Audrey, and sleeping DeeDee

“Cricket”

“Boo”

Baby “DeeDee”
She actually stayed in her stroller for about 10 minutes without screaming!
(A record for her!)

“Lefty” (9) walking with his best buddy Isaac
This was the day that Lefty found out that Isaac is moving out of the country.
We are all very saddened by the news, but Lefty is taking it especially hard.

A Cream Fizzsicle

Although a favorite treat of my childhood, I went many years (as in over 20), without having eaten a single creamsicle.  I never missed them, until this last pregnancy. At some point the mighty creamsicle became my token “weird pregnancy craving”. I just had to have them. I don’t even want to know how many boxes of creamsicles I consumed during that last trimester.

My bizarre cravings generally go away after the pregnancy ends, but this time I was hooked. Unfortunately for me, sweet baby girl becomes colicky and breaks out in a rash anytime I have any dairy products at all (with the exception of raw goat’s milk), so creamsicles were now out of the question.

And then I had a new discovery. I can’t take credit for this one; a lady at Costco told Rob about it so I thought I would give it a shot — an orange soda flavored ZipFizz mixed with milk (or in my case, goat’s milk) — a Cream Fizzsicle!

A little background: I gave up my caffeine addiction almost a year and half ago, kicking the multiple-cups-of-coffee-a-day habit. I’m FREE! But on those days when I need a little boost, I rely on ZipFizz.

If you are unfamiliar with the product, it’s a zippy bubbly little energy drink powder that you mix into a bottle of water. It’s “boost” comes from natural caffeine from guarana seed extract and B Vitamins. It’s a great immune system booster with its 833% RDA of vitamin C, and is a beneficial supplement for vegetarians with its 2500 mcg of B12 (among its 17 vitamins and minerals). No sugar, 2 carbs, and only 10 calories. Great product!

To make a “Cream Fizzsicle”, drink about 1/4 to 1/3 of the water from a 16oz bottle of water. Add the ZipFizz, shake, then fill the rest of the way with milk and shake again.

My thanks to the unknown Costco worker in Clearwater, Florida who came up with this concoction.

Strawberry Picking Time!

I love strawberry season!

In Florida, strawberry season runs from November to April, and just yesterday it dawned on me that it is already March, and we hadn’t been out strawberry-picking yet! So we loaded everyone (plus a neighbor friend) in the bus and headed back to our favorite picking spot, the same one I blogged about last year, Bane’s Hydroponic Farm (now also known as the Keiper Family Farm).

Unfortunately, the prices have doubled since last year (I would assume this is due to the hard freezes that hit the area this winter), but it was still worth every penny. There is NO comparison to the store-bought strawberries. These are sooo tasty — sweet; no “bite” as in the store-bought ones…and these are grown without pesticides.

101 Free Recipe Books & Guides

We love cookbooks around here. In fact, there is always some sort of cookbook at the top of my daughter Audrey’s gift list. What is better than “a cookbook”? A *free* cookbook!  And there are several free cookbooks currently available from various sources online  – some mail order, and some in space-saving downloadable PDF format.

Most of the following recipe books do not appeal to me personally (as a vegetarian), but these two are the exception. The Vitalita Culinary Group has produced two free, original, on-line, vegan cookbooks (vegetarian/non-dairy e-cookbooks):  A Taste of Vitality and Desserts of Vitality.

Over 90% of the recipes contained in these books are gluten free (no wheat, spelt, kamut, oats, barley, rye, etc.), and are therefore suitable for a person with celiac disease or a person (such as many on the autism spectrum) on a non-gluten diet. Many of the recipes are low-fat, and all recipes are nutrient dense. At this point, these two cookbooks contain over 150 original vegan recipes.

* Note: While the above cookbooks are available for free download, they are presented as shareware and a $10 contribution is suggested to benefit Vegan Outreach.

Merck and Go Red for Women from the American Heart Association are giving away free cookbooks to promote healthy eating. Just go here and play the Heart Smarts Challenge game. Once you earn 250 points and you can request the free cookbook.

Jolly Cook: Click here to sign up for your free cookbook from Jolly Cook!

California Walnuts has the following meal-planning publications available for free download:

• Smart Menus with California Walnuts:
  A collection of five recipes developed to showcase the versatility and great taste of California Walnuts.
• Walnuts Winning Recipes:
  A collection of healthy recipes from the six finalists of the I Love Walnuts! Recipe Contest
• Walnuts for Wellness:
  A collection of six recipes featuring Dr. Andrew Weil’s favorite appetizers, snacks and entrees made with California Walnuts.
• Walnut Wheel:
  Sensational walnut menus start here. Use this wheel to help you create innovative and tasty walnut dishes!

Bush’s Baked Beans has a What to Grill Guide available for free download, providing unique recipes and menu suggestions to make the most of your next grilling occasion.

Free PDF honey recipe booklets from Rowse Honey.

Omaha Steaks is offering their 2009 cookbook, Omaha Steaks Great Gathering Guide & Cookbook, both for free download or mail order.

Romance writer Roxanne Rustand is offering a free download of the cookbook Cooking by the Book, which contains a collection of recipes by two dozen authors.

A free gift from The California Olive Committee – a free recipe book featuring California ripe olives.

Click here to download a free recipe book, containing 15 recipes from Eagle Brand Foods.

Order (or download) a free Vegetarian Starter Kit (contains recipes & tips)

SeaPak is offering a free downloadable shrimp recipe book.

The folks at Campbell’s are helping us survive the current economic crisis by offering a free Budget Friendly Meals cookbook, as well as a $1 off coupon.  (And while you’re there, be sure to check out their collection of St. Patrick’s Day recipes.)

California Raisins – Click here to sign up for your free California Raisins recipe book.

Homemade Holiday Cookies: free printable cookie cookbook from allrecipes – with recipes, tips and lavish color photographs

Sign up for these free Sun-Maid Recipe Booklets:

• Recipes for Healthier Eating
• The New Taste of Tradition
• Fruit & Sunshine Recipes
• Family Favorite Recipes

FREE Cookbook:  Gooseberry Patch Fall Favorites with Sun-Maid Raisins & Dried Fruit.

Download free snack brochure with recipes: 7 Days 7 Ways from the National Honey Board

Frontier Soups – free Dinner in Eight…Hours crock-pot cookbook.

Free recipe pamphlets using NO YOLKS & WACKY MAC.

Free Extended Wine Pairing & Tip Guide from Impromptu Gourmet

Free Copy of the HSUS Guide to Vegetarian Eating – packed with mouth-watering recipes and the hows and whys of making the transition to vegetarian eating.

Earthbound Farm Organic Products – obtain a free recipe brochure, featuring 8 recipes from Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook.

Free Recipe Booklet from Kitchen Basics – Fill out this form to receive the colorful recipe booklet Cooking with Stock, with 50 great recipes.

(Almost) Free Cookbooks from Athens Phyllo Dough: Athens Phyllo Dough is offering three different “free” cookbooks (not completely free because you have to pay for “shipping and handling”):

• Athens® Mini Fillo Shell Fillings Recipe Book
  Featuring more than 60 quick and easy recipes and color photos, the new Mini Fillo Shell Fillings Recipe Book shows how to create scrumptious hot and cold appetizers and delicious desserts using Athens Mini Fillo Shells.
  $2.99 for shipping and handling.
• Athens® Fillo Dough Recipe Book
  Celebrated chefs across the country share their best ideas for using Athens Fillo Dough to create appetizers, desserts and entrees in this 100-page recipe book. Athens Award-Winning Fillo Recipes contains beautiful, full-color photos, helpful directions and creative ideas for fillo dishes.
  $2.99 for shipping and handling.
• Krinos Greek Gourmet Cookbook
  Krinos, North America’s #1 importer of Mediterranean foods, invites you to explore more about authentic Greek cooking. Krinos Greek Gourmet Cookbook is 100 full-color pages of authentic Greek recipes.
  $4.00 for shipping and handling per book.

The Jiffy Mix company is giving away their Hospitality in a “JIFFY” Recipe Book. Simply click here to request a free copy.

As a way if saying “thanks” for visiting their website, HealthRecipes.com is offering several free cookbook downloads. They include:

• Italian Recipes
• Low Fat Recipes
• Chinese Recipes
• Crock Pot Recipes
• Mexican Recipes
• Salad Recipes
• Diabetic Recipes
• Soup Recipes

Free download of recipes from Oregon: Oregon Bounty Recipes – A Collection of Autumn Inspired Dishes From Some of Oregon’s Top Chefs

Free! From Hidden Valley Ranch – Download your free Original Bites Cookbook here.

The Prepared Pantry, a family-owned company which sells baking mixes, kitchen tools, baking ingredients, and gourmet foods, is your one-stop destination when it comes to baking “how-tos”. Not only do they offer a free 250-page baking reference book, they have an entire list of free baking guides and recipe collections, including:

• Everything You NEED to Know About Chocolate Chip Cookies
• The Wonderful World of Gingerbread
• Favorite Holiday Recipes: The Best Recipes for Special Occasions
• The Foods of Summer
• A Baker’s Guide to Chocolate
• The Perfect Pancake: A Pancake for Every Occassion
• Biscuits & Shortcakes Guide
• The Pumpkin Baking Guide
• Everything You Need to Know to Make a Bag Lunch
• How to Make Rice Krispies® Treats: A Baking Guide
• Easy Cheesecakes from A to Z
• The Perfect Pie: A Pie Lover’s Handbook
• A Baker’s Cookie Guide
• Emergency and Outdoor Bread Manual
• Baking Ingredients and How They Work
• Baking with Kids: Cupcakes, Cookies, and a Grandfather’s Advice
• A Handbook for Making Monkey Bread
• A Handbook for Roast Chicken
• 12 Things that You can Make with a Mini Bundt Pan
• The Pocket Sandwich and Piroshki Recipe Guide
• How to Make a Great Hamburger
• Classic Chicken Recipe Collection
• Dried Fruits Recipe Collection
• The Smoothie Collection
• The Pizza and Calzone Collection
• The White Pizza Collection
• The Cream Pie Collection
• The Omelet Collection
• The Angel Food Cake Collection
• A Collection of Muffin Recipes
• Easy Pannekoeken Guide
• Five Easy Steps to a Food Storage Plan
• How to Make Dinner Rolls
• Muffin Top Guide
• The Biscuit Recipe Collection
• A Collection of Bread Recipes
• A Collection of Fruit Pie Recipes
• Holiday Salad Recipes
• How to Make Braided Bread
• Pannekoeken & Popover Guide
• The No-Bake Cookie Guide
• Brown Betty Recipe Collection
• A Sampler of Chocolate Recipes
• How to Make Aebleskiver
• Monkey Bread & Other Sweet Breads Guide
• Nothing But Potato Salads Recipe Collection
• Omelet & Frittata Recipe Collection

Definitely a site worth checking out!

Free Online Cookbook from Gold Medal Whole Wheat

Love Thai food as much as I do? I was pleased to find this wonderful collection of downloadable cookbooks from A Taste of Thai:

• Favorite Thai Recipes
• Coconut Milk Recipes
• Dessert Recipes
• Seafood Recipes
• Rice Noodle Recipes
• Thai Vegetarian
• Chicken Recipes

Free Teacher Resources – Florida Water

I am always excited to find (and share) *free* resources available to home educators!

While searching for more information about our current drought situation here in Florida, I noticed that there is a complete section on the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s website dedicated to free teacher’s resources!

There you will find coloring pages, activity sheets, booklets, study guides, posters, and more!  There are materials available for all ages, and all related to Florida’s water system (water conservation, hydrologic cycle, wetlands, habitat, water testing, etc).

If you are interested in more than just teaching resources, click here to find links to all of their free publications –  including resources for homeowners, such as A Guide to Florida-Friendly Landscaping.

Our Baby Girl – 2 to 6 Weeks

She’ll be 6 weeks old tomorrow.

Baby “DeeDee” is growing up very quickly! It’s been fun watching her develop her personality — especially now that she is full of smiles. (I was the recipient of her first REAL full-face smile on February 19th. While I was dressing her for the chiropractor she looked up at me, so I said, “Hi Beautiful.” She responded with that big precious heart-warming grin, and has been smiling at us ever since.)

Health-wise, DeeDee is doing great! She has been a bit colicky lately, but my giving up dairy (except for raw goat’s milk) has helped quite a bit, as well as having the chiropractor give her a colic release adjustment.

And she is so BIG!!! At just under 6 weeks old, DeeDee weighs in at 10 lbs, 12 ozs and is just shy of 23″ long! None of our other babies reached the ten pound mark until they were at least 4 or 5 months of age, not weeks. It’s been kind of saddening for me, packing away DeeDee’s outgrown newborn clothes already. She is now wearing 3-6 month clothes (and even some of those are too small). She’s even outgrown all of her precious *brand new* newborn cloth diapers. *sniff sniff*

“DeeDee” with Big Brother “Gator”
February 12, 2009
2 weeks, 5 days old

With Big Sister Audrey
February 22, 2009
4 weeks old

February 23, 2009
4 weeks, 1 day old

February 25, 2009
4 weeks, 3 days old

With Big Brother “Gator”
February 27, 2009
4 weeks, 5 days old

With Big Sister “Boo”
Boo seems to be DeeDee’s “favorite” – When she is really upset, NO ONE can calm her like Boo can!
March 1, 2009
5 weeks old

Boppy Time – Just Chillin’ Out
March 4, 2009
5 weeks, 3 days old

More Photos from March 4, 2009
These are photos of “DeeDee” with a blanket and hat that my grandmother (her great-grandmother) made

With Big Sister “Dinky”
March 5, 2009
5 weeks, 4 days old

February

It just flew right on by with only one tiny update from me, and yet February is always our busiest month!

(You guessed it; this is going to be one of those “I’m-making-up-for-not-posting-in-nearly-a-month-by-putting-updates-on-100-different-topics-in-one-post” entries. And, as expected, it will contain a whole bunch of photos…because I think my children are adorable!)

Besides adapting to life with a newborn in the house again, starting school back after a lengthy break…then Valentine’s Day and our 18th anniversary (which we chose to postpone for a month, but I know the husband will likely forget about…hmph!), there were also…

Three Birthdays!

“Boo”

Boo celebrated her 8th birthday in the neighborhood park/playground, with Hello Kitty cupcakes, games, several of her neighbor friends, and all of her siblings.

(Methinks she liked the Love Monkey)

“Gator”

For his 14th birthday, Gator opted for a trip to Romano’s for a private birthday dinner (yes, we did embarrass him by having the staff sing to him), and a family-only party, for which he chose a very um….interesting cake.

Leave it to the family comedian to choose a litter-box cake.

“Dinky”

Dinky Tumblina chose to celebrate her 11th birthday by hanging out with three of her closest friends.

Landscaping

We bought this house last summer. It was the UGLIEST house in the neighborhood — no joke. Drab gray in color; graced by a combination of no landscaping and dead landscaping. Dead grass (live weeds though.) UGLY. Just plain UGLY. But the price was too good to pass up. The bargain price finally allowed us the ability to buy a home in the state of Florida, the second most overinflated real estate market in the nation.

The home was, in fact “brand new” (as in “never lived in”). It had been built by an investor who hoped to flip it for a huge profit…just before the real-estate market tanked. It was subsequently foreclosed on and we bought it from the bank for a fraction of the original cost. This (price) was worth living with the effects of three years of neglect…until now.

We spent the last weekend of February re-landscaping the entire front of the house. (“We” meaning the boys…primarily Gator). I am pleased with the results. (Can’t wait for everything to “fill in” — the annuals and perennials we chose are all spreading plants).

BEFORE
The day we looked at the house: May 18, 2008

A Work In Progress

AFTER
February 23, 2009

A Visit from Grandpa

The day we were finishing up the landscaping, my dad and his girlfriend stopped in to visit for a few hours on their way from Florida back to Indiana. The children only see him once a year, so I took advantage of the photo op.

“Dee-Dee”

Any entry of mine just would not be complete without making mention of my sweet baby girl, who turned one month old in February…but I have enough mommy-brag in me to post an entire photo-filled entry just for her…so stay tuned! I’ll try to get the latest photos uploaded tonight.