Finding Direction

So obviously the blog has been lacking. And I'm super seriously sorry about that. I really have no good excuses other than life has gotten in the way. So what have I been up to? Well, life. Figuring out some more things, directions and goals for my family. Setting up breastfeeding groups, working on finding a midwife to work with, getting everything prepared for homeschooling/unschooling, figuring out a budget and finding out if we want to stay where we are or move closer to split the difference between our current jobs. Oh, and there is that. I took a summer job to help save up money to either a) by our own land and build up from the ground up or b) buy a cheap little house with a bit of land and turn it in to our very own homestead (or rent it).

So yes, choices, planning and finding direction. Finding out more of who I am, who my family is and where we want to be. Where our future lies. And none of these are easy decisions. The effect of these are going to dictate our next several years. And before we've kind of jumped and not planned. The fear of jumping this time is holding me back. With the results in the several previous times, I am not willing to go into our next life decision without a plan and enough money to support the decision.

For once though I am not thinking about anyone other than my little family of four. I'm not worried about what my parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles or grandparents will think. I am only worried about what is going to work best for my family. What is going to give us the life we wanted without any trouble. Without worrying about if we will have enough to provide for every day life and still be able to do everything we want in life. We are not going to compromise our goals of homeschooling/unschooling, gardening and living off the grid as much as possible, homesteading, and saving for anything. We know that we can find what we want and still have all of our integrity. We can still reach our goals. And along with not compromising our personal wants. I will not have to give up my goal of becoming a midwife and Anti-Mainstream Dad won't have to give up his life ambitions. He'll be able to work greater towards what it is he wants out of life.

Our family finally has a motto. It's not a Scripture or quote. It's just simply a goal. Our motto is a goal. “Find Yourself and Be Willing to Look Yourself in the Eye.” Nothing greater than true self love and acceptance is more important to our family. Because once we have accepted ourselves, then we are willing and open to working together and accepting everyone. So we will work towards our family motto/goal and work towards meeting all our life goals and no longer judge or regard anyone or anything with malice. We will simply be who we are and by being who we are, we will succeed in all our family goals.

*Planting a garden, Planting a garden*

We just recently moved to get more off "the grid" and we are taking the first, albeit, baby steps towards living our more natural, anti-mainstream life. Even though we practice several non-mainstream {or as we call them here on AMM anti-mainstream} we are always looking to increase what we do and raise our children cleaner. One of these ventures is in our family garden this year. Combined with the produce we produce, the access we have to local grass-fed meats and living right outside an Amish community we will have a plethora of other fruits and veggies to sustain us for the summer/fall months not to mention being able to store for winter.

Our garden plots. Aside from these two SFG boxes we have 4 large drums that we are going to grow crops in.

Our goal is to produce enough to feed us for most of our summer/fall dinners and put away what we can. By doing this we picked the vegetables our kids like the most and what we eat most frequently. Our kids are different than most. Broccoli is actually their favorite! Not that I'm complaining.

Our large bed has a trellis for some of our vine plants.

So what are we growing?

3 Broccoli
20 Green Onion Plants
18 Green Bean Plants
8 Spinach Plants
Mixed Greens (Mescalin Blend)
Black Seed Lettuce
Butter Lettuce
4 Cucumbers
4 Summer (Yellow) Squash
4 Acorn Squash
4 Zucchini
4 Watermelon
4 Cantaloupe
4 Tomato
4 Bell Peppers
Countless Carrots 
Assorted Herbs (Chives, Cilantro, Basil, Rosemary, Parsley, etc.)


We are pretty excited for growing our garden. Even started it before the New Moon so it would grow in favor with the moon cycle. We are very excited and can barely contain our joy to see what lessons growing a garden brings for us. 

And I think our garden was greeted with lots and lots of rain! I'm taking it as a sign of good fortune. 

So what are you growing?


Hugs & Coffee, 
-The Anti-Mainstream Mom
Please join the conversation over on Facebook!

  

Yummi Pouch Review and a Giveaway!

 I don't know about you, but I *love* the convenience of the squeeze pouch baby foods. I just don't like the downside of those pouches. The cost, the garbage output and who knows what's in them! It seems like they say vegetables but it's mainly apples. Or you're trying to avoid buying from companies who are owned by evil parent companies-which makes it so hard to buy anything convenient and organic these days.

 But wait! There is a product that gives you all the benefits of a pouch baby food AND all the benefits of knowing you are providing your baby with the best! The best part of this company is it's a small business and family owned. You are truly helping a family and not a big corporation!

 Let me introduce you to the Yummi Pouch!

The Yummi Pouch is truly and awesome product! I cannot believe this isn't making a bigger wave on the market. It has all the loved features of a store bought pouch and more. And their website has a wealth of information too!

The Yummi Pouch design is really awesome. These features make it a win! 

• Ability to stand up for filling with a specially designed bottom.
• Extra wide mouth with a very sturdy zipper to keep spills locked in. 
• Spots on the back for the date and contents so you make a large batch and freeze for later. 
• A fill line so that you aren't filling your pouches more than 6 oz. Which helps with portion control.
• The spout is equal to, if not sturdier than store bought pouches and hold up to little kids chewing on them. (Yes, this happened already.) 
• Over-sized cap for littler hands. But still tricky enough that the littlest of littles and cannot open them.

The Yummi pouch is:

• Freezer Safe
• Dishwasher Safe
• BPA, Phthalate and PVC Free  
• Reusable/Recyclable   

And it really is dishwasher safe! I ran ours through the dishwasher last night. One pouch came completely clean while the other had some remains of applesauce in there. For best results in the dishwasher I would recommend rinsing the before putting them in. The structure held up and there was not a hint of shrinking or warping of the pouch.

One big concern for me is the pouches tend to have extra air in them. As you can see here, it took my son blowing air in it for there to be extra. The bonus to this "experiment" was that when he took his mouth off, it didn't shoot everywhere. Added air in these from little kids playing in them, do NOT make them shoot the yummy goodness everywhere! Which is a major win with toddlers. They are great for taking snacks like applesauce from being a messy disaster to an easily enjoyable snack for moms and kids alike!

 They are really easy for kids of all ages to use. You do not have to use a lot of pressure to suck the contents out of them. Which makes it easier to not waste food. And the spout on the side makes alleviates the fear of popping open the zipper. Which is next to impossible to do. I filled the entire pouch up and pushed as much force as I could down on it and nothing happened! Win! They would even be great for adults who work out or use energy shots and make them at home!

*Yummi Pouch Scores*

Environmentally Friendly.

Strong zipper to prevent spills.

Easy to clean.

Pay for themselves in a few uses.

Affordable enough to replace if needed.

*Yummi Pouch Growth Opportunities*

Multiple sizes for different age babes.

Different color options instead of just different cap colors. 

Yummi Pouches are a perfect addition to your arsenal to make sure you baby is getting the best that you can provide! By taking away the toxic chemicals and crummy ingredients and guaranteeing you babe gets a delicious and eco-friendly way of taking a food on the go or keeping a messy food clean at home. They are so easy to fill and great for on the go! Affordable, economical and practical. They even have tools to help to make filling them a breeze. Overall, Yummi Pouches are a 10 out of 10 in the Anti-Mainstream Mom's book! You can purchase Yummi Pouch via their online store or find them on Facebook. 

OR 
Enter for a chance to win a set of Yummi Pouch!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Hugs and Coffee,
-The Anti-Mainstream Mom
 Please take a second to like us on Facebook! 

Why I Cloth Diaper

We're a cloth diapering family. We get elbow deep in poop and gladly stink up our washer multiple times a week getting the gunk out. And we are okay with that. 

But why, you might ask. 

There are many reasons families cloth diaper. Environmental reasons, allergy reasons, frugal reasons, etc. And these reasons vary from family to family. For our family we use them for a few reasons. 

1. Frugality- We have had a very rough year and a half and I knew that diapers would be hard to purchase. I knew that if I had cloth diapers I would never have to worry about whether I could afford diapers or not. I could always wash them in the tub if I had to. And trust me, I have had too.

Source

 

 Just a glance at this chart above shows you how much you can save by just buying cloth diapers. It has included the cost of laundry in them as well, which for me is on the steeper end. We have primarily used flats/prefolds and covers. I think cost can be considerably less if you use different washing methods.

2. Environmental- There are some out there who claim that there is no difference between cloth and disposable when it comes to the environmental reasons. They say you use the washer and dryer and the electricity outweighs the landfill. I disagree. Sure, there are people who solely use electricity for washing/drying their diapers. But most of us who cloth diaper like using the sun. It helps us "bleach" our diapers and kills germs! 

Source

 

 

3. Vanity- There are some who would say there is nothing vain about using cloth diapers, but have you SEEN the way those bums look when they are covered in cloth! They are so cute! You just want to let them run around in diapers and leggings and a t'shirt because they are so stinkin' cute! So for me, the vanity of it comes in to play seriously. (Could also be why I just arranged to buy about 6/7 more diapers from a friend!)


So tell me, 
What are your reasons for cloth diapering!? Share in the comments below! 


Keep on walking the path less traveled,
Anti-Mainstream Mom




Please take a second to like me on Facebook!