Lard and Locking Horns

I read a book called Real Food, which left me eager to make my own lard. I finally squeezed it into my schedule today. It was very easy. The prep work was a bit messy and challenging (because I had so much lard that I had to do it in several batches,) but the actual cooking or rendering of the lard was quick and easy. And the results were beautiful! I've been searching for some healthy alternatives for Elliot and Jack (who still have allergies to milk protein,) to use in cooking. I found coconut oil, which is delicious and amazing for baking, but I was still searching for something healthy and heat-tolerant to substitute for butter in the frying pan. Homemade (totally unhydrogenated) lard it is! I can't wait to try it out tomorrow on Jack's daily two fried egg breakfast! Here are some pictures of my handy work. And, if you're thinking, "lard? Did she say lard is healthy?" please do some reading. The last few decades have not been kind to fats. Our diets and bodies have suffered. Here are two great articles, here and here. And, if you're thinking, "Wow! I want to try making my own lard!" there are tons of great articles with how to info on the internet (or in Real Food.) Try it!

Now that I've shared some of what went on IN my kitchen today, I thought I'd share some of what went out right OUTSIDE of my kitchen as well. Much to my dismay, it goes on all over my house every day. It's hard to describe to people who don't have several boys living in their house. I find it both charming and revolting, often at the same time. All four boys participate in it willingly, and cry if you make them stop (although Mattie is clearly the biggest fan and primary instigator.) I try to put up with it as long as I can, but since it rarely ends well, sooner or later, I put a stop to it.

Seen enough? If not, I will post some video footage on Facebook soon... Good night!

Thoughts from the Circus

I went to the circus a few weeks ago with Mattie and his class. During the final curtain call, I noticed that most of the performers were siblings, or groups of siblings. In fact, excluding the animal trainers and clowns, all but one of the groups of performers were siblings. Suddenly, and entirely unexpectedly, I had one of those transcendent mommy moments sitting there in the dark circus tent, surrounded by 50 preschooler and their parents. In the way that only a mother feels, my heart swelled to think of the profound bond that each group of performers had with their siblings, allowing them to entrust their lives to each other at each performance. With my heart in my throat I thought, this is what I want for my children.

My happy, weepy moment reminded me of a phenomenal parenting book that I read earlier this year called Siblings Without Rivalry. Like most parents of multiple children, I spend a (very) large part of my time listening to and dealing with sibling squabbles. But I always found it impossible to empathize with the boys, or even understand the fighting and meanness between them. This book put the whole concept of sibling rivalry into a different context for me. For the first time, I could actually imagine myself in my kids' shoes. Looking at family life from their perspective, I find it easier now to focus my energy and attention on each boy individually, giving them more of that personal love that they are fighting for. I also ignore and diffuse the negative attention drives much more successfully. Our house may still be full of squabbles, but I have noticed some very dramatic changes since reading the book. Of course, I still have my lofty hopes that they'll grow to trust and rely on each other like the acrobats on the flying trapeze. But in the meantime, I'll settle for having their feet on the ground and being kind to one another once and a while. If that sounds nice to you too, I highly recommend this book.