Back in Business

Friends, we are so excited!!

Our chickens have started laying again. We went four months without fresh eggs. Well, we would get an occasional egg from the chicken that moved to live with us. We also got a duck egg every day from our adopted duck. But, that was not enough to feed our family without buying from the store.

It is so fun to go out and check the nesting boxes every day. We have a lot of chickens that lay green eggs this time. Thankfully, we have only ended up with one rooster, which is our bantam silkie. We have five chicks in the brooder still. I’ll be so glad to be done with brooders. We have had some baby, whether duck or chicken, in a brooder since February. Yikes.

We currently have 26 animals– 10 ducks and 16 chickens. All four of our original ducklings ended up being drakes. We have to get rid of them since we have SIX drakes to one hen right now. They were mating her to death and had ripped out the feathers on the back of her head and causing wounds. We separated her and she has healed really well. But, we have to get rid of the jerks. They serve no purpose here. We are just feeding them and keeping them locked in the run so they don’t hurt any of our hens.

We free-range all of our chickens, the female duck, and our ducklings. They live such a full life, and I LOVE looking out the window and seeing them happily foraging for bugs. Today was the first day that I found an egg in a random place. Our duck (Matilda, because we name them.) laid her egg in the middle of our yucca plants.

We’ve been toying with ways to sell products from the homestead, but nothing is set in stone. If you think that owning chickens will give you cheaper eggs, you are wrong. But, if you want a QUALITY egg from chickens that are fed the best quality of food, owning chickens is the way to go. That is why farm-fresh eggs generally cost more. You get what you pay for.

Our garden is growing also. The garlic is getting close to harvest time. We go out and pick our salad for meals. We did have to re-plant quit a bit since we got some pretty bad storms immediately after planting the garden. It has been a challenge, but we are trying to not be discouraged. Scott and I are learning so much, and so are the girls.

Life in the kitchen has been pretty quiet. During the hot months, we try to grill or make simple meals so that we aren’t heating up the house. Monday felt like fall, so I baked a loaf of bread. It was so nice for a change. If you have any good summer meals, send them my way! I feel like I’m in a rut, and it happens every summer even though we have access to fresh produce.

We thank God every day that He brought us here. Scott and I were talking about it all last night. We both have grown closer to the Lord, our marriage has grown stronger, and our children are so full of joy since we moved out here. We didn’t know what God had in store when He closed doors several years ago. If we had seen what was coming, maybe we wouldn’t have been so hurt and struggled so much. But that struggle and pain stretched us and we grew. Growth is often painful, isn’t it. We still hold everything with an open hand. We know that the Lord directs our paths. We prayerfully approach everything in our lives. There is no better way to live.

WayFare Plant Based Pudding

We are a hiking and exploring family! Often, we will pack up a picnic lunch to keep in the cooler in our vehicle and eat after we’ve completed a long hike. But, picnic lunches can be boring and repetitive. We always pack sandwiches, chips, fruits, and veggies to keep it simple. Oh, and water. Lots and lots of water. Sometimes, simple ends up being boring. If we are going to continue doing this so often, I need to get more creative and pack something fun. On our last picnic, we brought along WayFare plant based pudding. It was a fun addition to our typically predictable meals.

When we aren’t out hiking, we are working on the homestead. There are a lot of animals to feed and care for. Plus, a really big garden to weed and water. The kids play outdoors most hours of the day. I want to fuel their bodies with healthy foods that will help them grow and maintain excellent health. I don’t just feed them good foods, but I explain to them why we do so and what makes each food healthy. Thankfully, they have always enjoyed learning more about nutrition and food. I don’t bore them yet.

Heart disease and diabetes run heavily in my family. I have always been aware of the genetics that are chasing me, and now my daughters. I’ve studied and researched the best ways to care for our bodies. I also wonder if it is the habits that get passed from generation to generation that have the most impact. Either way, I want to teach my kids healthy habits so that they have a solid foundation for health when they are adults. They know that treats are just that– a treat. Treats are something to enjoy every now and then, while still choosing the best options. They are not something to be consumed in excess. WayFare pudding was a yummy treat for everyone to enjoy. It is a treat to have a small cup of pudding with our meals.

Look at those sweet faces. Gosh, I love them.

I received this product, WayFare Pudding, for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

WayFare puddings are free from the top 10 allergens. If you are new to the food allergy world as I was, you may not know what the top 10 allergens are. They are Dairy, Wheat/Gluten, Eggs, Tree Nuts*, Peanuts, Shellfish, Fish, Soy, Sesame, and Mustard. *Highly refined coconut oil is used in their foods. The process used makes it virtually free of allergenic proteins.* Harper, my youngest, was born with a dairy allergy. It was horrible. I had to completely give up dairy while breastfeeding, and the tiniest amount would make her be violently ill. Back then, finding dairy free options was really difficult. Finding tasty and healthy dairy free options was nearly impossible. While she has mostly grown out of the allergy, she still gets an upset tummy if she has too much dairy in her diet. I am still very careful with her because I don’t want her in pain. Also, dairy irritates the lining of her intestines, so damage could be done internally that I’m unaware of. I am so thankful to have found a pudding treat that is safe for her.

WayFare pudding comes in three flavors– chocolate, butterscotch, and vanilla. We all tried every flavor, and all three were completely delicious. At first, everyone wanted to try chocolate or butterscotch. Vanilla is usually boring, you know. The chocolate was in the lead ahead of butterscotch, though I was in the minority loving butterscotch the most. When the kids didn’t have any other option, they gave the vanilla try. Wow! Vanilla was the favorite! It tastes just like cake batter. You really cannot beat cake batter flavored anything, in my opinion. I almost hid the rest of the vanilla to keep for myself. Almost.

WayFare puddings are plant based. I’ll be honest. I’m usually completely turned off by seeing the phrase “plant based” because the product is usually fully of unhealthy ingredients. That is NOT the case with WayFare, and I am so happy. Their base is organic butter beans and organic oats. How they made butter beans into something that tastes so delicious is completely beyond me.

WayFare pudding is certified organic, kosher, vegan, and gluten free. It checks off many boxes that consumers are looking for. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was telling my dairy free coworker about this pudding. WayFare was only shipping to 36 states. I just saw the announcement on their instagram page that they are officially shipping nation wide!! This package was shipped to me, where the temperatures have been miserably hot, and the pudding was still plenty cold. If you would prefer not to have it shipped, you can check out their store locator to find a store near you that sells WayFare. It is typically sold at Wegmans, Lucky’s Save Mart, Mom’s Market, Festival Foods, Woodman’s, and Tony’s Fresh Market.

WayFare started when their family faced some terrible diagnoses. They decided to switch to a plant-based diet to heal, and saw their health issues reverse. They developed their own ultra-green, zero-waste, sustainable food manufacturing system. How incredible is that? You can read more of their story here. I love stories of people taking control of their health and healing. Knowing that they built this great company as the result of all of that is just even more incredible. Thank you, WayFare for making such a yummy treat and sharing it with the rest of us.

You can go to wayfarefoods.com to place your own order for the most delicious pudding on the planet. Seriously, get the vanilla. I have a special code to share with you where you can get 20% off any product. You can use the code shareWF20 for your discount on any product that is good through April 26, 2022. Be sure to check out the many other products (cheese, dips, cream cheeses, sour cream, etc. ) that WayFare has to offer while you are there.

Dream Big with PACT Pajamas

As a mom, I always want to do the best for my child. I want to use the best and safest products for them. When my second daughter was an infant, we discovered that she had eczema. My youngest was later diagnosed with it as well. I started researching the best ways to help their skin stay smooth and comfortable. I didn’t want to just treat eczema when it came up, I wanted to avoid it rearing it’s miserable head at any point. Some of the biggest tips were to eliminate dairy, use lotions without any added fragrances and completely clean ingredients, and use organic cotton pajamas. **This is not medical advice, just what I found in my research.**

I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

Needless to say, when this package showed up at my door, I was thrilled. Pact sent their Dream Big Pajamas for us to try out! I have heard about the PACT brand for quite a few years, but had never taken the plunge on purchasing anything. I have filled up many a shopping cart on Pact’s website. I got an adorable set of Pact Dream Big Pajamas for one of my children for this blog post. I loved them so much that I bought more for the rest of my children almost immediately. They had to be matching, of course. This combination is Rainbows and Tea Rose.

Not only are the prints on these adorable, but they are also so soft. One of my children declared that they wanted their pillows to be made out of these pajamas, so that tells you how soft they are! Since we spend so much time in our pajamas, it is important that they are comfortable and free from anything that can further irritate eczema. Most children spend approximately half of the 24 hours of their day in pajamas. Being a homeschool family, my kids often don’t change out of their pajamas when we start school. Comfy Cozies forever!

I feel good knowing that what is against their skin, the largest organ, is not harmful to them.

That post-pool hair life.

We know that the Dream Big Pajamas are incredible. But, let’s learn more about the Pact brand, shall we? Pact is a fair trade certified company– meaning that the producers in developing countries are paid a fair wage. I know that it is a big buzzword (buzz phrase?) at the moment, but it is so important to support companies such as Pact who are doing such great work.

PACT is the Earth’s Favorite Clothing company. The cotton used is also GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified organic cotton– free from toxic chemicals. (Did you know that traditional kids pajamas are sprayed with a toxic flame-retardant that is incredibly harmful? Please don’t just take my word for it, do the research.) Anything that you put on your skin will be absorbed into your bloodstream. That includes any chemicals that are used in clothing and pajama production. I love that Pact is free from this toxicity. They also use 91% less water than conventional cotton production. This helps to save the earth’s most valuable resource– water. Pact is so environmentally friendly, and I love that. We were only given one beautiful earth, and everyone should do their part to take care of it.

Dream Big Pajamas are so soft. Have I mentioned that already? You know how stiff and uncomfortable most pajamas like this are. They have snug fit with a pull on waistband and banded cuffs at the wrists and ankles. Dream Big Pajamas have a tag free design, which makes them even more comfortable. No itchy tags to bother your children– especially those who are sensitive to sensory stimuli. They are available in sizes 18 months to 10. For reference, my oldest (in pink) typically wears a size 12 and is wearing the 10. My middle daughter is also wearing a 10, which is her usual size. My youngest is wearing a 7, and typically wears a 6. I prefer to give them some growing room, but these do seem to run a bit big. The fabric is pre-washed and shrink resistant. We’ve been wearing and washing them for a month, and have had no shrinking or pilling. These are quality pajamas.

They typically retail for $30, but you can currently get 20% off your first purchase with the code MomsMeet20 until December 31, 2021. You can purchase them at wearpact.com. This code is only valid on first time purchases and is not valid on any sale items or in combination with any other discount.

Pact makes clothing, pajamas, and underwear for children, babies, men, and women. They even have some bedding. Pact has a “fit happens guarantee” and will take care of you if you aren’t happy with your purchase. (You will be!) I CANNOT recommend these pajamas enough.