I hand-sewed two pink t-shirts this week using the free tee pattern and tutorial here, 5 step kids tee with free pattern! I just love Dana’s stuff! I learned two new hand sewing stitches, zig zag and catch blind stitch. I loved the way these tees looked so much, so I whipped out 4 more using my serger machine today! It was easy, quick and fun! Next up… shorts for the girls!
Birth story
Born: 6/6/2018, at 4:20am
3.996 kilograms/ 8lbs 11.65 oz
50 cm/ 19.75 inches long
32cm head circumference
Apgar 9/9
On Tuesday June 5th at 11am my waters began trickling out. I had to out a pad in, and just go about my day. I had been having the same mild contractions for weeks off and on. So this was a big change of pace. I checked baby’s heart rate and all was well. I was 5 days past 40 weeks. I was having the same mild contractions randomly through the day. At around 5pm they started becoming somewhat more consistent and a bit stronger. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle at the time. I just laid down or walked or did whatever I felt best doing. By 9pm they were definitely stronger and more frequent. I was able to breath through most of them. I started feeling very intense and uncomfortable contractions around 11pm. I was in transition for sure and found myself on my hands and knees burying my face into J’s leg, trying to find a place in my mind away from the intensity of each contraction. I found myself in tears sometimes, they were so intense. My contractions were now about 3 minutes apart and coming on strong. I started telling J that I wanted to go to the hospital. He followed our agreement (I told him to make sure I was certain by asking me and reminding me of what I wanted to do). I said I wasn’t sure. At 1am I saw a dark splotch on the towel and asked for a flashlight, there was a clot of blood. I told J to get our neighbor to take me. to the hospital. He left in the pedal boat. My friend was with me and helped me collect my bags. She walked with me to the dock. At one point I was down on the ground overcome with a contraction. I couldn’t find my positive head space anymore. I screamed out with each one. Our neighbor arrived finally, thirty minutes later, around 2a, and my friend loaded me into the boat and we pushed off, leaving J behind to watch the girls. We made it to Almirante in record time, an hour, and I got out and begam hobbling and moaning my way to the hospital. I screamed out in pain with every contraction, fighting the urge to push. Our neighbor ran ahead and told the ER I was coming, they met me halfway with a wheelchair and rolled me in. I was told to get onto the examination table and had my first of two, cervical checks. It was excruciating. I looked down at the pad I had put in before leaving and it was soaked in blood and amniotic fluid. They said that I was fully dilated and told me to stop pushing until they got me into the delivery room. I felt such an intense need to push and was trying not to, it was around 3:15a. They got me into the delivery room and up onto the pushing bed and set up with a heplock all while I’m pushing. I was crying and screaming with each contraction. The nurse was yelling at me to stop screaming and push as if I needed to use the toilet. She was very angry with me for being so inconsiderate of the other people in the hospital and carrying on so loudly. The doctor kept looking at me and rolling his eyes and oozing impatience with me. I kept trying to push, while lying on my back and holding myself up with these joystick like bars on each side of me. It was uncomfortable and made pushing very difficult. I finally felt a very faint sensation like what I thought was the ring of fire, it was nothing compared to the contractions, and knew Baby C was crowning. Though the staff wouldn’t tell me anything. Then all of a sudden, baby was out! I saw them take him over to the warming table and exam him. I asked if he was alive… they wouldn’t respond. I was able to see him though. And he was! He had his eyes open and he was just blinking and looking around. He was purplish and plump and perfect. I began shivering and they put a sheet over me… then had me move to the bed I was stay on for my visit. They wheeled me to the public maternity ward, just 3 beds. They brought my baby along and finally gave him to me. He was so perfect. It was worth it.
I have a subreddit.
Yes, it’s true!
And I also have a YouTube channel..
What? Don’t you?
Well, the reddit thing is pretty recent and it was started as a way to let people see more of the behind the scenes of our lifestyle, home, kids, stuff like that. I even started a “ask me questions and I might consider answering them section”… I know. I know. I’m so hip with the times. Hee hee.
I’ve definitely received a pile of really good questions so far! It’s going better than I expected, truly. Though there is one thing that is driving me crazy about the questions… (And not just the reddit ones, but also the YouTube, my contact form, email, Facebook and sometimes even instant messaging… ) whenever a person includes within their question(s) the following:
Have you and/or J… discussed/considered/thought about/talked about/researched/given an inkling of mind space to… Insert topic here.
I know people mean well and are just trying to wrap their heads around our quirky lifestyle choices, but I really find this portion of the questions to be offensive and belittling.
It’s equivalent to pretending you are my parent and that you are under the delusion that I (a 37 year old educated woman, who is well traveled, articulate, inquisitive, does not accept the status quo of just do what you’re told, actively thinks for herself, who has birthed two children and they’re thriving) am a complete and utter moron who walks around blindly following the other sheeple without a care or thought to my life or the impact my decisions make on my family, who now needs to explain that decision to you.
Now I am not saying that I am perfect by any stretch of the imagination.. Because I’m not.
As a matter of fact, I make really irrational and emotional decisions, that are no bueno, often.
Like several times a day often.
Even when I’m NOT pregnant!
But when there are decisions to be made about myself or my family that will have any major impact on my/our overall well-being, be that choosing the father of my children, having children in the first place, getting pregnant, moving to a foreign country, building a home, raising children, getting animals, land purchases, food choices, etc…
Planning, discussion and research, etc. happens FIRST.
So… Yes, I/we HAVE… discussed/considered/thought about/talked about/researched/given more than an inkling of mind space to…your question…. Waaay before you thought to ask it.
So please, from the bottom of my heart, when you ask me question, assume I am an intelligent, active life participating woman, who keeps my family’s safety and well being at the top of my list before even DECIDING to do anything. Then discussing with J, planning accordingly and executing said plan together, with lots of plan B, C and D’s when appropriate.
Thanks!
I have been really craving cranberries lately… and cake. So much so that I have been shoveling the dried cranberries in to my mouth in heaping handfuls. It’s so hard being pregnant sometimes. 😂 Since we’ve been out of flour for over a week now, (I know it’s almost a sacrilege) I’ve had to make do without cake. It was rough I tell you, but somehow I survived. Today J went to the local grocery house on his really amazing kayak walking machine. I handed him a list and the reusable grocery bags/box, and he was off and elliptical jogging over the ocean. It’s really a very fun machine to use. Anyway upon returning home I rummaged through the bags and pulled out potatoes and started making fries and chips. After making a few batches I got the bag of flour open and whipped up this delicious masterpiece of cranberry, walnut, almond deliciousness.
You’re welcome.
Enjoy!
I posted this on Facebook over a month ago when we first acquired our latest birds, but was hesitant to write a post about them until the initial “adjustment” period for our new four feathered friends. We’ve given them half of the clay floored first floor in the towered dome in progress for the past month. We were told by the lady who sold them to us to keep them penned in for a month to 5 weeks. So we provided them with all the things they could need for comfort and safety and counted the days until we could open the door for them to venture out into the wilderness again. The reason for the “captivity” period, for those unfamiliar with ducks, unlike chickens, ducks will just go back to where they were before… Especially when it’s basically across the street (mangroves in our case). We learned this the first time we left the door open on day 1 of having them here.
In order to ingratiate myself on the ducks, daily, I fed them fresh cracked oysters and mussels. Within a few days they started eating from my hand, mobbing me more like it, and quickly grew to know me as the food bringer. After about 4 weeks two adventurous birds decided to test out their ability to fly and got up to the open second floor, but just sat there, mildly perplexed it seemed. At that time we felt it would be okay to open the door of their captivity and see what they’d do. I continued feeding them as usual, several times a day and they seemed content to just stay put. Until today! Finally they climbed their wooden ramp to freedom and wandered around the island, staying close to the “nest.” Then two ran back into the safety of the first floor space when J walked by, the other two just scurried away a bit, but otherwise didn’t seem really bothered. A few moments after the girls and I came to feed them the same pair took to flight and soared out over the mangroves landing with a neat splash into canal right in front of the houseboat. They were like happy children let out to play after many days cooped up inside. It was a pure delight to watch them.
Shortly after they ventured into the mangroves and I was certain never to be heard from again, fearing they would not return. But as I called out food time a hour or so later (it was evening at this point) I saw them waddling back to the island wall, looking for a way to get back in. I continued calling and guiding them with my sounds.. And eventually both ducks successfully returned to the coop and the company of their less adventurous fellows. It was amazing and such a relief to me.
So it’s official! We’re now proud parents of a flock of ducks. Three hens/ducks and one drake! I would like you to meet…
Duckorama (J-Me’s drake, white with light grey covering head and back)
Glory – (AJM’s duck/hen, mostly black with shimmering purple and teal hue and some white underneath)
Duckstar (BAM’s duck/hen, white with medium gray covering head and back)
Calypso (My duck/hen, white with black (teal/purple hue))
I thought it was about time to answer this question, which gets asked quite often…
What do you and your family eat?
The short answer is, food!
Okay, okay… I know you want to know the long answer… so here it goes!
Those of you who really know us, know that our goal is to create a self sufficient and sustainable food operation for our family. We didn’t come here with much, if any, experience growing/raising food in this environment. A lot of our food growing attempts have been unsuccessful, but when we have the successful moment, man it’s cool!
Since it’s basically just J doing all the building and me occasionally planting something here and there, it’s not really getting us to our goal quickly. It doesn’t mean we aren’t growing ANYTHING. It just means we’re only growing a few things and those things are doing pretty well. J has been working on the garden behind the workshop dome, adding, the top soil from the island when he’s bulldozing, and setting a small fire in it to create ash and charcoal. The girls and I help by collecting and throwing our compost (any biological food waste we have that our flock of birds won’t eat) out into the mix of soil. Some of the plants seem to be doing ok along the wharf, while others don’t like it. Also our chickens keep jumping the short walk around the island and getting into the garden and eating the edible green. Eventually we’ll get that all sorted.
In the meantime I thought I’d share what we DO eat and where it comes from. So without further ado…
Yuca Root (grown here)
Coconuts (grown on one of our other islands, 3/4 mile away)
Coco Plums (same island as coconuts & here on this island)
Eggs (a flock of 8 mature hens, will be 9 once our new pullet grows up)
Red Striped Amaranth (grown here)
Katuk (grown here)
Lemon Grass (grown here)
Jamaican Sorel (grown here)
Mint, Basil, Sage & Oregano (Mexican & Panamanian varieties) (grown here)
Taro Root (grown by the river, where I wash laundry by hand, I dig it up on the way back)
Culantro (locally foraged, by me and my kids)
Pork (local neighbor)
Ñame Root (local village)
Plantains (local neighbor)
Bananas (local neighbor)
Oranges (local village)
Grapefruit (local village)
Fish (we catch it, fish trap coming soon!)
Coconut Oil (a local indigenous woman makes it by the gallon, it is amazing!)
Sugar Cane (grown here and on our farm property 1 mile away)
Pineapple (grown on our island here and a local neighbor)
Flour
Rice
Pasta (spaghetti & macaroni, back up for when I don’t have time to make it from scratch)
Dry Red Kidney Beans
Potatos
Onions
Garlic
Chicken Quarters (sometimes it is locally raised, other times not, we plan to raise our own soon)
Eggs (whenever our chickens are on strike or I go egg crazy and use them all up)
Shelf stabilized milk (for homemade yogurt and putting on homemade granola)
Quick Oats
Sugar (for homemade ginger bug fermented carbonated juice & tea)
Salt
Yeast
Meat (chicken breast, ground pork, beef and/or turkey, various cuts of beef & pork, fish)
Dry beans (black, pink, red kidney, lima, black eyed peas, pinto, navy, split green & yellow peas)
Canned meat (pork, beef, tuna & sardines)
Olive Oil (for homemade mayonnaise)
Ketchup (by the 5kg bag, then I refill the container)
Honey
Vinegar
Butter
Cheese
Various Nuts
Whole Rolled Oats
Peanut Butter
Prunes
Raisins
Fresh fruit & vegetables as needed but include the following:
And last but not least various spices as needed.
I try whenever possible to buy, the few things we get, processed food items in bulk. This way I can just refill the containers and minimize trash that comes home. I take reusable net/nylon/recycled fiber shopping bags with me, bring several gallon size silicone reusable zip lock bags (for meat products and cheeses from the butcher), recycle containers and zip lock bags from the nuts we buy and the leave any excess packaging at the store for them to recycle.
My friend E, who lives in The States, recently mailed me some lily bulbs and Vinca seeds! My sister SAL mailed us some black beauty zucchini seeds as well! Since both items arrived with our neighbor, who recently returned from The States, on Monday, I thought I’d get them all into the ground together. Here is a picture of the spot in which I planted them.
I’m excited to see a few days later some green shoots are popping up from the lilies.
Can’t wait to see the other plants pop up too!
Here are some of the other plants along the wharf:
The banana forest, herb and salad garden and flower garden area.
Our banana forest is producing another bunch of bananas 🍌!
Here are some of the plants from the salad & herb garden:
Mint
Sweet Marjoram
Red striped amaranth (an edible salad leaf, eaten raw or cooked)
Seedlings of Red above
Katuk (edible salad, raw or cooked)
Mexican Oregano
Rosemary 🌹
Acorn Squash
Lemon Guava
Rue
Yay gardening!
I found this shredded chicken recipe last week and it was delicious! I made a double batch, using the salsa chicken I made in the crockpot that same day,and ended up freezing half. I also made a few modifications and substituted/added ingredients I had on hand and needed to use up. Tonight I pulled out the pie crust I made recently from this piecrust recipe and decided to thaw out the chicken I saved to make a casserole pie!
Ingredients (prepwork in parentheses)
Directions
I really wanted to test out my kitchenaid whisk attachment and some of the higher speeds today. I decided what better way to do that than making homemade marshmallows for the FIRST. TIME. EVER!! It was really easy only took 3 ingredients and the outcome was overall fantastic!! I am really enjoying my new Kitchenaid Pro Design 600 that I picked up refurbished by the manufacturer for $220 with the pour shield, spiral dough hook, whisk and cake paddle attachments. It has held up to everything I’ve thrown in it and is making cooking so much more fun!
Wanna make some marshmallows too?
Marshmallow Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
For storage: I dust the cut marshmallows in flour and put in an air tightish container. They should keep for about a month…assuming they last that long!!
The KitchenAid in action:
Ingredients
Instructions
Serve with a simple side salad of fresh spring greens, tomatos, onions & shredded carrots, topped with one of these delicious homemade salad dressings (link coming soon!!)
