I'm not crunchy...

I've decided that I'm not crunchy, even though I do many of things that crunchy people do. :) And some of you are saying "What in the world is crunchy?"

I have noticed that many of the large, frugal families do the same.

• Homebirth - many choose this option because it's often cheaper (for us it was $3K more!) and after a certain number of children, it doesn't seem so strange. We realize babies are born even if there isn't a doctor in the room. Others go a step further and have baby unassisted.
• Homeschool - we started for academics, realized we'd continue due to faith, and then also added in the fact we like the tone it creates for our family. Not sure if this counts as crunchy, but it does raise eyebrows in some areas. Thankfully, in our area, it is seen as pretty normal. Unschooling raises eyebrows. Relaxed homeschool does too. But it makes me wondering why we see M-F school in a building as normal. Or the idea that children spend most of their waking hours in school and -then- do homework on top of that. Most adults would freak if they worked their 40hrs and then more at home. What's the goal to all of this? Why can't it be done in a different manner? What do we want for our children, really? Has institutionalized schooling changed our country? World? Yeah, I'm getting more crunchy in this respect because I believe that character comes first. Having a *good* childhood is also important.. and whether my children can point out the Black Sea on the map or know the meaning of idiosyncrantic isn't going to make or break me as a parent. (They know how to use the dictionary. The world is their oyster.) I think most people choose traditional school because it's the way it has always been done.. they get pressure from family.. or they see it as a 'break' from their children. (Not a supermom, I love breaks as well.)
• Reuse, reduce, recycle - I don't recycle, much. It's a pain where I live because wild critters get into the bin. I do reuse. A lot. A whole lot. I have baby clothes that have gone through some of my kids, some of my friend's kids, back to me, and then out again. The back deck is being converted into a poultry house. Most of my homeschool materials are non-consumable. None of this is about being crunchy. It is about being cheap. :) A lot of our stuff comes used from goodwill or friends. And we pass it on. Buying bulk also means less packaging.. using dried beans (cheap) instead of canned. Buying the large thing of oats and so on.

Anyway, we're entering a new stage here. The children and I are looking into urban homesteading. We do live in a rural area, but don't have a gazillion acres to work with. We have a bit under 2 acres of cleared land, minus the footprint for the house and the front area where we have a treeline between us and the road. Jim doesn't care what we do as long as it results in less grass. Good news for him.. there is a "Grow Food, Not Grass" movement out there. We'll be trendy while we work on ditching the lawnmower! (Insert green comments here - less gas, less pollution. American perk - not giving money to overseas oil companies.. but still basically comes down to being cheap ;) I'm not green or overly patriotic compared to most! My children don't even know the pledge because it seems creepy to me as a Christian. No allegiances pledged to flags or golden calves, thankyouverymuch.)

I do think we're headed towards a time like the great depression. Many who predicted the recession, and got laughed at (although they were -right-) are saying it's still going to get worse over the next 2-3 years. So while we may miss out on memorizing the countries in alphabetical order, we will be learning some valuable life skills.

Things I'm looking into:

• Poultry. I love guinea hens and look forward to those again. However, we really do need chickens because guineas do not lay enough or reliably. I'm looking at plymouth rock or black star, depending upon availability. The girls really like the bantam silkies. Maybe a few of those for decoration. ;) I have a spot for them, but do like the idea of chicken tractors, especially some that can set on the 4x4 gardens.
• Gardens. Raised beds actually, I am looking to use block instead of wood because the wood rots quickly here.. I think it also attracts fire ants. (Carla Emory says to use boiling water, so we'll give that a go instead of chemicals.) During the winter I plan to see how many I can get ready. I like the Square Foot Gardening book, there is an updated version available. All New Square Foot Gardening
• Goats.. maybe.. eventually.
• Which leads to learning more about canning, freezing, and other ways of storing.

We were hoping to get a Dutch Valley Co-op going here. I might shop at Sams while waiting on that.. I wish they had a source for bulk black beans.

Anyway, that's my post for now. We're a little mixed up this week due to lots of people having colds.. including our little Queen. She's a handful (well, armful) when sick and we do lots of "Pass the Baby" so she can be held.

Chili that looks like meat-flavored chili.. but isn't:

1 large bag black beans
1 bag light red kidney beans
1 bag dark red kidney beans
1 large jug tomato juice
2 cans tomato paste
seasonings (salt, pepper, lots of chili powder, garlic, red pepper, etc.)

Rinse beans, pick out stones, put into 6qt crock overnight. Next day, take out 1/3 of beans to be used in something else. *grins* (Unless you actually have the right amount. I had too many. I added garlic and such to those to cook).

Add in the tomato juice, paste, and seasonings. Cook on high for most of day. When the beans are squishy use a potato masher to squish some up - this makes it thicker and it looks like meat.

We served it over cornbread (made from scratch, simple recipe I can post sometime.) It was very good. It made enough for dinner and today the leftovers are being used for a second dinner. It works nice over baked potatoes or with elbow macaroni and cheese mixed in.

I typed on this post off and on all day.. in between math, talks about Alexander the Great, reading instruction, loving the baby, wiping up spills, changing diapers, checking out Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities and more.. it might be jumbled.